Titans
by MarvelMatt
Summary: Seeing 'The Legends' in action gives the Green Arrow an idea - Together Arsenal, Speedy, Artemis and Impulse, will form a team of their own, training under him and Katana, they will become the heroes of tomorrow. Working together they will become something else, they are no longer the sidekicks of heroes, but they are... the Titans!
1. Title Page

_'_ _There is a lot of competition out there. If you don't work as a team, the competition will win_ _'_

 _-Unknown_

* * *

 **DC Comics Crossover**

 **Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl & DC's Legends of Tomorrow**

* * *

 **Titans**

* * *

 **Part One: Genesis**

* * *

Chapter One: _The Blueprint_

Chapter Two: _The Offer_

Chapter Three: _Dinner Date_

Chapter Four: _Together_

Chapter Five: _Faith Given_

Chapter Six: _Go Team!_

Chapter Seven: _An Impulsive Plan_

Chapter Eight: _A New Foe_

Chapter Nine: _Flash vs. Arrow, Round Two: Impulse vs. Arsenal_


	2. The Blueprint

_'What we need are more people who specialise in the impossible'_

 _-Theodore Roethke_

* * *

 **Titans**

 **Part One: Genesis**

 **Chapter One: The Blueprint**

* * *

Despite everything that had happened recently, Oliver couldn't help but chuckle alongside Barry's laugh, as the two of them knocked their glasses together with a sharp 'clink'. They both took a brief mouthful of their beers, almost with a private salute to their team, which seemed to be constantly expanding even further. The same team that, as 'The Invasion' had proven, was only going to continue getting stronger and stronger with time, as more and more good people stood up to defend their lives and their homes from those that would do it harm.

The bar the young speedster had chosen was a fairly small one compared to what Oliver was used to, but it was well lit, with a nice, vibrant atmosphere, yet it still felt somewhat homely. It was a very light place - cosy, even - and while the Star City vigilante was much more accustomed to the muted noise and dark colours of a booming nightclub, he freely admitted that it was a nice place to be.

He also had a feeling it wasn't the first time the, 'Hero that Saved Central City', had been there, given the nod he received from that bartender as he entered.

"So I have to ask…", Barry tilted his head to the side in confusion, "aliens are a thing now?"

The speedster laughed, rubbing the back of his head, "Yeah… look, I'm sorry - I should've told you about Supergirl- I mean Kara, after it happened, only-"

"Zoom?"

He nodded, "Zoom", his nose scrunched up, "and then there was everything with Damien Darhk and Laurel and Flashpoint. There was just…"

"Never a good time?"

Barry nodded once again, "There was never a good time", he finished his sentence by shaking his head, "we always say that when something like this comes up. Even if the others don't, you and I should make an effort to talk more - we are leading these teams-"

"-Sara too-"

He nodded, "-Sara too, but we're not really good at the whole organising ourselves thing"

"You know, ever since everything started happening, I have actually been meaning to talk with you", when Oliver saw that Barry was listening, giving him his full attention, he decided to continue, "because speaking of Sara, it was when I was watching her full team in action - The Legends, as they call themselves - it actually gave me a little bit of an idea"

"Oh", he knocked the rest of his drink back, swallowing the bitter liquid and not even recoiling slightly as the strong alcohol hit his system, and Oliver knew it was strong, because that was the only type he drank ever since he'd spent time in Russia.

Somewhere in the multiverse, there was an adult version of teenage Ollie that had never really progressed past his years of constant debauchery that would've really been jealous his ability to do that, even as Barry gave the archer his familiar lopsided grin, "So what's this idea of yours then?"

"It's just", he took a moment to gather his thoughts, wondering what the best way to explain it was, "with everything that's happened recently, and all the time's where we've needed to ask the others' _help_ ", the last word almost pained him to say, "like that time you, me and Firestorm teamed up to help you take down The Reverse Flash; or when I helped you out with Bivolo-"

"-We call him Rainbow Raider-"

"-I'm not calling him that", Oliver frowned slightly, " _ever_. Then you returned the favour when you gave me your help with Captain Boomerang, and then again you helped save my team's lives with Ra's and Malcolm-"

"-Dark Archer-"

"-I've even gone out and pulled in a few old friends to help on occasion, like with Tatsu-"

"-Katana-"

"-And then there was that time you and The Atom took on that weird hacker girl-"

"The Bug-Eyed Bandit - and I'll stop interrupting you now, because I can literally _feel_ that you're about to reach over here and strangle me"

Oliver rolled his eyes, trying to suppress the irritation that the speedster often flared up, before he pushed on, "Look at us, we've fought an immortal dictator together; you ran across dimensions and met _another_ Flash; and then there's the whole multiverse and time travel things; not to mention Supergirl, who is probably just about the most powerful person either of us have ever met. You said that Cisco's slowly beginning to master his own powers - give him enough time and 'Vibe' will be more than just a bit of a force to be reckoned with, and I'm training a brand-new team of heroes right, it all just added up and got me thinking"

"About what?"

"It feels as though every time either of us come across a new villain - a new bad guy - they always feel like they're getting that bit smarter, that bit stronger. They become more and more organised, the longer that we're around, so I think that it's time we started to become more like that too"

"So, what?" Barry shot him a look that was half-serious, though he still had a smile on his face, "You think we should form some sort of a super ultra-team that hunts down the bad guys and saves that day?"

"Not exactly… I was thinking something more along the lines of a league"

It took a moment, but recognition slowly dawned across Barry's face and Oliver knew that he had understood, "Oh… I get it now. You want to have something in place like the old JSA had, right?"

"Yeah something like that… it was meeting this past version of Vixen's what gave me the idea", he nodded to himself, "it's just a shame I couldn't get hold of Mari - I think both of them would've be proud to see the other in action"

"Huh", Barry took a moment to think it over, "alright, I think that it's actually a really good idea, but a team like that would need some sort of structure: a place to meet; actual meetings that take place; some kind of hub set-up too I guess for coordination… and then they'd need a leader, or at least a figurehead"

"And that last part's where you come in"

"What? Me?" the speedster turned to face him, wide-eyed and confused, "You want me to lead? It's your idea, why don't you do it?"

"I'm not trying to pawn a job off on you Barry, but a team like this needs to have a friendly face in charge, someone who can not only lead the team, but also be able to put them at ease when things start to get rough, make them feel better when things go wrong - and that goes double, especially when it comes to dealing with the public, and that's just not who I am. People fear the Green Arrow, they respect The Flash"

With the bottle in his hand having warmed up, Barry began to play with the label, scratching it away with his thumbs, as he mulled over what Oliver had just said, "Okay… so how about this - and I'm not saying yes, 'cause an idea like this clearly needs a lot more thought and planning"

"I'm listening"

"Say I'll be the leader - the figurehead, if you like, of this team… this league - but if I did that, then I'd want you to be the one that calls the shots if we're in the field. You're actually trained for this kind of thing and you have a way of looking at threats in a way I don't. When we met up with everyone, you put me in charge, but it was _you_ they all looked at to handle everyone's training, just like you did for me when we first met. So, I'll say that if I lead, then you'll have to be my sort of…"

"Tactical Advisor?"

Barry smiled so wide that for a moment, Oliver was slightly afraid that the grin would split his face, or worse, that the speedster would reach over and try to _hug_ him.

"The Green Arrow, Tactical Advisor…", he let the words roll off his tongue, trying them out, "well I think it's a perfect fit"

"I'll drink to that"

Oliver held up his hand, and before long there were two fresh bottles of ice cold beer in front of them. He smiled at the on-duty server while she collected their now-empty bottles and was rewarded with a faint blush across the bridge of her nose, while across from him, Barry saw what happened and rolled his eyes, still not-quite used to Oliver's pseudo-flirtatious ways.

He was rewarded for his eye roll with a swift kick to the shin beneath the table.

The two of them stayed silent long enough for their blonde-haired, blue-eyed server, whose nametag identified her as Beth, to leave them, before Oliver asked the question that had been on his mind since their lives had been saved a few days prior.

"So, who was the kid anyway?"

"What kid?"

Barry sent him a confused look, and he took a moment to realise that Barry didn't actually know who he was talking about, and he fought the need to roll his own eyes in response.

"The really fast one"

"Oh him", his nose crinkled, a tell-tale sign that he was uncomfortable, "that's err… that's Wally. He's Joe's son, a biological one, I mean, and he's Iris's little brother too"

"He's a speedster like you?"

"Yeah, honestly he's a pretty fast one too. He has a lot more free time than I do, and he keeps training all the time, I mean he's gotten so fast, so quickly-"

"-It makes you feel stupid sometimes?"

Barry blinked in confusion, "A little bit, yeah. How'd you know-"

"Roy Harper", Oliver's eyes turned downcast, "don't get me wrong, he's not at my level, at least, he wasn't the last time I saw him, but he picked up archery much quicker than I ever did, that's for certain"

"Really? Sounds just like Wally"

"So, he's really dedicated to his training then?"

"Yeah, I guess that's one way of putting it", he took a gulp of his beer, before mumbling, "at least he listens to HR"

"So, are you training him then?"

"NO!"

At his loud outburst, several of the bars patrons turned to them, invading their private bubble by shooting the pair curious looks and straining their ears; Barry's face turned red in response to the scrutiny, while Oliver took a relaxed approach, smiling back at them all with a disarming grin, helping to put them all back at ease and forcing the attention to die back down.

"Why not?"

"I just", his face grimaced as he remembered the images from the Flashpoint Universe; Kid Flash, Wally West, had ended up lying on the medical cot, as his life slowly faded away, killed by 'The Rival', his own version of the Reverse Flash, and for all his supposed power, Barry had been helpless to help him as he lay dying, his own speed diminishing, until he was forced to get help from Eobard Thawne of all people, "I just can't"

It still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not even a little"

"Alright then, fair enough"

Maintaining the silence between them, the two men nursed what was left of their drinks, before Oliver got up to settle their tab. Once he was done, he met Barry outside, who gave him a moment to compose himself before he ran them both back to the, now-former, STAR Labs hangar that they had been using over the last few days.

The same hangar that Oliver had just bought from them for a very good price, and then paid Cisco his own small fortune to outfit with his latest and best security features, which included having a full-body biometric scanner on all of the hangar's access and egress points.

The scanner had actually been activated, but Oliver hadn't made the time yet to programme everyone he wanted into it, so for the moment, he had set it to allow everyone who approached in as a guest, with only the first two people having designations; and even they only existed as proof that the system worked.

 _"Recognised: The Flash Zero-Two, Green Arrow Zero-One"_

"Hey, how come you get to go first anyway? I'm apparently the leader of this team-"

"-It's a league-"

"-league of ours. Shouldn't I be person numero uno?"

"I own the place, so I get to go first. I tell you what though Barry, if you want to go first next time, then you can buy the building too"

Barry chuckled in response as the door opened by sliding downwards, "I'll keep that in mind"

The two of them walked through the new security doors, stepping into what could only really be described as a form of 'organised chaos'.

Oliver had already gone through the entirety of the building, mapping out the different floors, and drawn up mental designs for each area. In one corner of what was going to be his new expanded and improved training room, Sara and Amaya were showing off a few of their more versatile moves to Jax, Wally and Thea, who were all laughing at each other, in between getting thrown to the mats by an equally amused White Canary and Vixen.

Supergirl was bouncing around Caitlin and Felicity, happy to be surrounded by more like-minded women, and both Oliver and Barry liked the way the young alien girl seemed to light up the room she was in, and by extension, everyone around her. Barry thought it was always nice to see people like that, but for Oliver it was an alien concept to witness; seeing someone surrounded by so much darkness, and yet she managed to be so visibly happy and carefree all of the time.

In truth, seeing her unsettled him for more than just her being an alien.

At least Barry still scowled from time to time.

It made him feel better though, lighter even, knowing that there were still places out there where people could be better, safer.

At their makeshift bar, they could see the rest of Team Legends helping themselves to what was left of their synthesized alcohol. The pair both found it strange to see a group of heroes drinking along with Mick Rory, AKA Heatwave, a known arsonist, convicted felon and foe of The Flash, who had just had all of his and his, now-deceased, partner's criminal records erased as a personal favour from The President for all of his hard work during what was already being labelled as 'The Invasion', by the media.

Quite a few of them had decided to cash in on the favours they had been told they were owed, but he had decided to do the smart thing, and save his for a later date.

Oliver didn't trust the man in the slightest, and Barry was certainly still wary of him, having confided in him that Rory apparently didn't live by the same code of honour that Leonard Snart had, but before everything had started in earnest, Sara had gone out of her way to corner the two of them and vouch for him, telling them both that - in no uncertain terms - that the arsonist had proven himself time and time again, and when they were fighting, all of them pushed onto a single platform, Oliver had found himself back-to-back with the man, relying on him; arsonist and archer working together, if only for a few moments. He hadn't given him any reason not to trust him then, nor had he since it had all ended, which told him that even if he was definitely wary of him, he could still rely on Sara's judgement calls.

Also, it was funny to see him embarrass Ray over and over again, even if it was with some sort of disguised affection.

The new Team Arrow, which was everyone minus himself, Felicity, Thea and Diggle (as well as Lyla and John Junior), had all left for Star City, seeming to relish in the idea that without the senior members of the team back home, they were free to patrol their city's streets to their hearts' content without the Green Arrow there to reign them in.

He had Felicity monitoring the situation just in case.

As they entered the room in earnest, Cisco's head popped up from beneath a control panel, smiling contentedly to himself as he tinkered away, catering to Oliver's rather specific and surprising demands; Barry flashed across the room to talk to him, leaving Oliver stood by himself at the main entrance to the hangar.

From his spot at the top of the room, he could see them all as they interacted with people they never usually saw; he watched on as Thea lunged at Sara's face, distracting her vision as Wally appeared behind her in a brief blur of yellow lightning, hunched over behind her legs, tripping the former assassin like they were all back in kindergarten, sending her sprawling to the floor.

Wally popped back to his feet with a massive grin, while Thea began giggling at the sight of her ersatz-elder sister glaring up at the yellow speedster. Her giggles grew to be real laughter as Wally tried to show off by flexing his muscles, only to find himself tripped up by the Legends' Leader's feet and one arm being wrenched behind his back.

Jax and Amaya began laughing as Wally squawked, and as Thea helped the youngest speedster to his feet, Oliver gained another idea.

* * *

It was a few days later when everyone had wound down, and Cisco, with some extra help from Ray, Felicity, and to most people's surprise, Jax, had finally finished installing the last of their new security systems. Jax had even managed to install a small shield generator, much like the one installed on the Waverider, in case anyone tried to attack their new base directly.

Just in case the combination of expertly trained and super-powered heroes inside wasn't enough. The shield itself apparently wouldn't hold up to much in the way of a powered assault, but it was better than nothing.

If nothing else, it would be able to buy them just enough time to make an escape.

They all made their way to the rooftop, where the Legend's time ship was stored. They were greeted by Gideon at the base of the ramp to the cargo hold, and with a round of hugs and goodbyes - only Ray was brave enough to even try and hug Oliver, who decided to bear it, and rewarded him for his efforts with a brief pat on the back.

Team Legends gave a final round of 'goodbyes', before they all made their way back onto their ship, immediately heading up towards the bridge, where they could continue waving to their friends, with the exception of Mick, who thumped Ray on his back and went off in search of more beer.

While everyone else took a few steps back, finding the space to wave away, Oliver, Barry and Sara came together at the base of the ramp, Oliver placing his back towards the crowd.

"So, this is it for now huh?"

Sara couldn't help but grin at the other two men, who always stood out next to each other, like brothers and best friends in one aspect, and like night and day in the other.

"This is it", Oliver confirmed with a nod of his head, before reaching into his trouser pocket and handing over a plain USB stick, before handing another one over to Barry, and she became aware that because of where Oliver was standing, no one else could see them.

Meaning that no one else could see the sticks either.

A fact that wasn't lost on her.

" _Ollie_ …", she dragged his name out, "what is this?"

"This", he said, with a quick glance to make sure the others weren't looking, "is a recent idea I had. I was discussing it with Barry the other day, and he helped me put a few of the pieces together. I'm working on something else as well, which I think will help all of us in the long run, but I was hoping for now, that you'd both take a look at this one", before she could ask anything else, he added, "just you two though. Our eyes only"

"Alright", she slid it into her jeans, "I'll take a look at it for you", her tone was suspicious, but she pulled him into a hug nonetheless, which after a moment's hesitation he returned, "take care of yourself Ollie"

"You too Sara"

Letting him go, she hugged Barry too, who was much quicker to hug her back, earning him a quick peck on the cheek, and despite himself, he blushed, "Later fleet feet"

He chuckled, "Just come home safe, 'kay Tweety"

"You got it boss"

The two of them watched on as she made her own way up the ramp, a bounce in her step, and still dressed in her casual wear. Once the door began to seal itself, the two of them ambled their way over to join the others, reaching them as the Waverider began to hum, signalling it powering itself up, and after a few moments, it began to slowly lift off, raising itself into the air.

Oliver and Diggle both raised a hand in farewell, while Barry led everyone else in waving madly to them. They all watched, looking on in partial amazement, partial disbelief, as the ship headed up into the sky, accelerating madly, before it disappeared into the time vortex.

Beside him, Digg let out a breath he had been holding, "I ain't ever gonna get used to seeing that"

Barry laughed out loud, having heard Digg's statement, before they all made their way off of the rooftop and down towards the ground. Thea led them all out to the front of the building, where Team Arrow's nondescript black van, the STAR Labs van and Oliver's Ducati were all parked up.

The two teams all piled in to their respective vehicles, leaving only their leaders stood out front, where they could feel the others' eyes on both of them. Barry offered his hand, which Oliver grasped firmly with his own, before surprising the younger man by pulling him into an extremely brief, one-armed hug.

"Take care of yourself, and that team of yours, scarlet speedster"

Barry laughed, clapping him lightly on the shoulder, "Right back at you, emerald archer"

* * *

His feet 'clicked' and 'clacked' on the tiled floor, the obnoxiously bright white offending his eyes, as he stepped up to their manager, fighting back the urge to wince, "Status report: Did you get what we needed?"

"No Sir. We were unsuccessful at this time"

"What?! That is not what the board of directors will want to hear. There will be consequences for this and you can be damn sure that I will not be the one paying them!"

"Yes Sir, but…"

"What is it?"

"The bodies were removed too quickly for us to recover one, that is. I mean- it's just-"

"Stop your snivelling and get on with it"

"While the _heroes_ were distracted fighting against The Dominators that arrived, we noticed that for a brief moment, there was an injury; just for a few moments before it rapidly healed, and our team managed to recover this from the scene"

He held up the small glass vial, letting the crimson liquid inside swill around for a moment, briefly flickering to a light orange colour, even as everyone stopped what they were doing, all of their eyes being drawn to it and what it represented. Following its movements, he could feel the superior's hunger for it.

"Give that to me. _Now_ "

"I take then, that this is an acceptable substitute for our supposed loss"

"Oh _yes_ , indeed it is. _Now give it to me_ ", he snatched up the vial with greedy fingers, the overhead lighting reflecting off of his glasses in a way that highlighted just how dark the brown colour of his irises was, "this will suit our purposes much better than the original. I will deliver this to our partners for their peace of mind, and once we have secured the funding, we shall commence work immediately. You have done well. Now, prep a lab on the new level; we have work to do"


	3. The Offer

_'If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door'_

 _-Milton Berle_

* * *

 **Titans**

 **Part One: Genesis**

 **Chapter Two: The Offer**

* * *

They were a little over halfway back Star City when Digg noticed that Oliver was waving him down, and after a quick check to make sure that there was no one else behind him, he pulled the van over to the side, bringing it to a stop on the hard strip of the freeway, ending just in front of the rear wheel of Oliver's motorcycle.

Thea and Lyla were quick to get out of the van, almost jumping out of the backseat; Thea feeling restless from sitting still for so long with nothing to do, and Lyla wanting to make sure that John Junior got some fresh air. They were followed by a much less hasty Diggle and Felicity, as the quintet made their way over to where Oliver was leaning against his standing bike, in the middle of removing his helmet.

"What's with the stopping man?"

"I've decided that I'm not going to be heading home with you all just yet"

"What? How come? You are the mayor man, you do have a city to run"

He blew out a breath, expecting to hear that a lot when he got back, "I know, but I need to head to Hub City, and I'll probably be there for the day, maybe another one, but there's someone I need to see about a thing"

"And I assume that you're being purposefully vague about this for a reason?"

"I am, but this time, it's none of your business", he ignored the affronted look from Felicity, and the surprised one from Diggle, as he took in his sister and Chief of Staff, who was looking at him in confusion.

"Ollie, just what's going on?"

"It's personal, but I'll talk to you when I get back Speedy, okay? If it goes well, it'll probably end up including you anyway. Can you book a table for three on Sunday night? It can be wherever you want, and we can talk there - just make sure that it's somewhat private"

"Alright", she was frowning, but wrapped her arms around him in a hug, "we'll talk in a few then"

"Digg, I'll need you to look in on the recruits while I'm gone, and I want you to keep Artemis out of the field until I get back. It should just be for the one night"

"Do you mind if I ask why?"

"I just", he sat up straighter, to look his oldest friend in the eye, "I just need you to trust me on this one Digg. No questions asked"

The former solider looked as though he wanted to argue, but decided to hold his tongue, and instead nodded his consent. Oliver had always played things close to his chest, but this was the first time he'd been sure to tell them that he was actually playing something.

If nothing else, for that act alone, he felt that this deserved his trust.

Satisfied with the non-verbal response, Oliver slid his helmet back on, and ignoring the suspicious looks he was getting from both, Felicity and Lyla, he raised a hand to them all in goodbye, before he gunned the acceleration, turning left where the team would go straight ahead, and began following the signs for Hub City.

He had an old friend to visit.

* * *

Jason Anders was relieved when the giant clock above the garage door finally hit six o'clock.

The day had felt like a long one, and with each passing second, the heat emanating from inside of the garage was made worse by the complete chill coming as a result of the rain from the outside.

It made everything feely 'sticky'.

Grimacing, he took a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow on the sleeve of his overalls, he pulled the pale blue fabric over his head and toed off his work boots, before he put them back into his work locker; before taking a moment for a quick wipe down with the towel he kept there, followed by replacing his boots and overalls with a pair of sturdy trainers, black slim-fit jeans and his bright red hoodie, before he waved a goodbye to Mark, the garage's lead mechanic, and stepped out onto the streets.

He immediately pulled his hood up, liking the anonymity the material provided him, before tightening it, as the rain chose that moment to begin falling faster than it had been before. It immediately soaked through the material, chilling him to the bone, and ensuring that he completely regretted his decision to not put on a thicker coat when he left for work that morning.

He took a long, deep breath and gained a lungful of 'The Hub'.

The air was nice and crisp, even in the drearier parts of the city; a testament to the city's strong policy of cutting down on the use of non-renewable energy sources, which was something he could appreciate. As he made his way down the wide main street, he took in a whiff of the local pizza parlour, enjoying the scent of grease and salt, as his eyes saw that it was still filled with customers, despite the fact that their outdoor patios couldn't be used.

He nodded at a few people that he had come to recognise as regulars for the area, most of them being from the city's local homeless population; they were among the few people that he made an attempt to strike up conversations with, knowing that they were the first people who would know if anything particularly vicious going on in the area. It always kept his mind calm to know that everything was fine, even despite the fact that Hub City was a city known for its low crime rate.

He made a quick stop to the nearest convenience store to pick up a fresh carton of milk and a few bags of chips, paying in cash, and giving May, the elderly checkout lady, a smile when she gave him back his change, earning a wink in response, causing him to let out a short laugh.

He winked back at her on his way out, tucking his purchases under his left arm as he made his way back onto the street.

It was raining even heavier than it had before when he stepped out of the store, and he pulled the strings on his hood tighter in response, despite the fact that he knew it wasn't waterproof.

His walk sped up into a light run as the rain continued to fall hard, utterly drenching him through his jacket and beginning to soak through to his t-shirt too.

He turned the corner onto his block and made a straight beeline for the front steps of his apartment block, barely avoiding slipping on the steps, he didn't hesitate to pull open the front doors and dive inside, relishing the warm and dry entry way to his building.

He ignored the broken-down elevator, walking straight past it and onto the stairs. Half-walking, half-jogging, he made his way up to the fifth floor, heading for his own apartment - apartment 5B - which was all the way at the very top of the building, but instead of having a nice view of the rest of the area, which some people apparently _had_ to have, he had a rather nice view of the building next door, as well as complete access to the building's fire escape.

It was the reason he chose the apartment.

Absentmindedly, he manoeuvred his free hand into his jeans' pocket, sliding his key into his palm, and then the lock, before using his shoulder to nudge the door open. Managing to keep a firm hold on his purchases, as he half-walked, half-stumbled through the door, caching himself at the last moment.

Kicking the door shut behind him, he froze for a moment, even as he dropped the milk and chips on the countertop, before shrugging it off with his wet jacket, slinging the offending garment over the nearest radiator.

He used a dish towel to dry his hair, as he cast his eyes around his darkened apartment. It was bare, which was fine with him, he'd never had that much stuff to begin with. The only personal items were the Flash and Green Arrow figurines that were set onto the TV stand, which he had manoeuvred into fighting stances.

"Are you going to stand there all night? Brooding in the dark? Or are you going to come out and say hi"

There was a low chuckle as the hidden figure in his apartment stepped out of the shadows, even as he hit the light witch on the wall, brightening the room considerably.

"I see your skills haven't diminished then"

He scoffed, "Please, I grew up with those kind of skills, kinda needed them to survive; all you did was just help make them better. It does help that I was taught by the best though"

"Ah, flattery", he smirked as he lowered himself into one of the room's two armchairs, "it'll get you everywhere, you know?"

"So they tell me", he threw his towel into the kitchen as he moved to take the opposite seat, leaving a small coffee table in between them, "what do you want Oliver?"

The Star City Mayor-by-day, vigilante-by-night, reclined in his chair, relaxing slightly, as he slid over the file he'd brought, "To put it simply… do you want to get back in the game?"

Across from him, Oliver read the interest on Roy's face the second it appeared, the disbelief colouring his face, even as the other man took a moment to read through the file, scanning each page in turn with growing understanding, "Are you serious about this man? Who else knows about this?"

"You know I wouldn't be here if I wasn't serious, and other than the two of us, no one else knows just yet. I'm planning on telling Thea and a new girl when I get back though - I think they'll both want to be a part of it"

"Good… that's good, you should definitely tell Thea", he paused for a minute, "alright then. When do we start?"

"You're in? Just like that?"

"Well, I'll need you to hook me up with a new suit, a new bow and all that, but if you've got me a place to stay, then hell yeah I'm in. I've been going out while I'm here, lending a hand here and there, knocking a few heads together, scaring a few people straight, you know how it is"

Oliver let out a chuckle, he hadn't checked up on Roy with any regularity, but somehow he knew that Roy wouldn't be one to idle, "I can get you a new suit fairly easily, and there's a few notes in there on possible expansion, but I also want you to be the one looking out for them. You'll be the oldest one there"

"And the most experienced?"

Oliver nodded, "That too"

"I suppose I can do that. I became your student to do my part to save my city. When I outed myself as 'The Arrow'", he made the gesture with his hands, "it was because that was the best way to do that. The city might've been better for having Roy Harper, but it _needed_ Oliver Queen. Arsenal was good, but the Arrow was better"

"I go by 'Green Arrow' these days"

"Uh huh, well either way, it still needs you, but if there's even a chance for me to do that same type of work again, as myself, as Arsenal, then believe me when I say that I'm all in"

Oliver smiled, filled with pride at seeing his protégé step up once again, handing over another slip of paper, this time with an address written on it. Roy snatched it up as though it had been written on a plate of solid gold, "Here. That's where I want you to be. Be there at ten AM, in six weeks' time"

"I'll need the time to pack up here", Roy nodded to himself, "I'll be there, you can count on me", both men stood up, recognising that it was time for Oliver to leave, and they shook hands, stood together as student and master once again, "and if you need anything before then, well you already know where to find me"

When they released their hands, the elder archer made his way to the door, but before he could leave, he turned back, "Actually, there is something you could do for me"

* * *

"Alright Wallace, my man! You go, go, go, yes you do! That's my boy, right there"

"Woo! Ha ha!"

Finishing his latest training set with a laugh, Wally West ran out of the speed lab's testing circuit in a flash of bright yellow lightning and skidded to a stop in font of HR; their Earth-19 visitor, who was the latest version of Harrison Wells that had taken up residence in Team Flash.

He grabbed the jacket of his STAR Labs tracksuit and threw it around his shoulders, which matched the jogging bottoms and sneakers he was wearing. HR, who had been giddily twirling a drumstick in his right hand, wildly gestured to the screen that recorded him when he ran.

"Alright then, how'd I do?"

"How'd you do? How'd you do Wallace West!? I'll tell you how you did - that was your best time yet! I sneaked a peak and let me be the one to tell you; Kid, you're way faster than Barry Allen was at this point in his training"

"Training? What training? What the hell's going on here?"

Both quasi-mentor and student turned at the sound of an angry Joe West's voice; the police detective looking every inch a lawman, as he made his way into the lab space, flanked by a reluctant Barry and Iris, and seeing the look on his father's face, Wally decided it was best to try and downplay what they were doing.

"Nothing"

"Nothing"

He winced.

He knew that was a poor excuse before the words had finished leaving their lips.

They really needed to get better at lying"

"Nice try", Joe stared down at his son, and Wally winced as the pitch of his voice went up in the middle, and Joe pressed again while Barry began speed reading the data that was on the screen, "now answering me without the bull, I'll ask you again, _what training_?"

"You've been training Wally as a speedster"

It was Barry that spoke up, having finished speed reading the data. It was a list of the top speeds Wally had been able to attain, how long he had been able to hold them for, HR had even begun making him work on his reaction time by introducing new stimuli into the circuit while he was running it.

Barry had known that Wally had been using the circuit to test himself - to make himself faster - but this was more than that.

This was the same type of training he'd set for himself.

When he actually had the free time.

A part of Barry was impressed that Wally was at a point in his training after just a few weeks, whereas it had taken him months to get that fast.

Seeing what could be his best opportunity, Wally stood firm against his father's unyielding stance, "I wanna help Barry do what he does. I'm faster than he was at this point in his training. I helped out with the Dominators. I can-"

" _No_. Absolutely not", Joe was adamant, and apparently his mind wasn't changing. It was clear to both Wally and HR that both his sister and The Flash agreed with his opinion, "You are not a superhero Wally, and Barry doesn't need any help out there"

"But Savitar-"

"I said no Wally! And believe me, that's final. You will not be running around out there, putting your life on the line; it's too dangerous, and _you_ ", the CCPD Detective rounded on the Harrison Wells of Earth Nineteen, who wisely took a large step back, "you should've known better. You know I would never allow-"

"Dad!" Wally stepped in front of his trainer, "Don't blame him for this. I'm a legal adult, and I asked for his help. I want to do this-"

"I said no Wally", he let out a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, "and I've already said 'no' before; my decision on this is final"

"That's not fair"

"Life's not always gonna be fair, I suggest you get over it son"

Letting out a frustrated groan, Wally darted forwards; Joe took a step back, startled by his youngest son, who ran out of the room, wrapped in a blur of yellow lightning, he made sure to hit Barry in the gut with his shoulder, knocking him into the ground and making sure that he couldn't be followed.

"Well", HR stuck his drumsticks into the back pocket of his jeans, the negativity in the room making him feel nervous, "you know what? I feel like I'm in the mood for a cappuccino. I'm gonna get me one. Anyone else want to come with?"

* * *

He skidded to a stop on top of the STAR Labs building, letting out a scream of frustration into the evening air, where it was swallowed up the noise of the city, drowned out by the din of the night's traffic and the people.

Normally, it was one of the things Wally loved most; standing on the roof of the building, high above the rest of the people, and he could simply watch on as the rest of Central City lived and breathed beneath him.

Normally, it was one of the things that served to help make him feel calmer.

But right now, Wally just wanted to scream.

It just wasn't _fair._

Barry got to use his powers to help people, running around every day with the wind on his face, helping put smiles back on the faces of those that needed him, and making sure that his city was safe.

And Joe and Iris not only knew about it, but they encouraged it - encouraged _him_.

Even Jesse was allowed to be trained to use her powers - and Harry was _way_ stricter with her than Joe normally was with him.

There was _so much_ that Barry could teach him about the different ways he could go about using his powers to help people, to be a hero, someone who could stand up and show the people that they mattered; just like Barry had been doing for years now, but he _wouldn't_ , not while Joe and Iris both said 'no'.

It wasn't _fair._

He heard the dull thud of boots on the ground, and didn't even bother to look up from his city view as he spoke, "I'm not in the mood for a talk"

"Well… are you in the mood to listen?"

Wally darted to his feet, spinning around, as his eyes began scanning the area for the source of the noise.

"I'm up here"

His eyes shot up to the building's decorative metal structure that shot up towards the sky, making the building stand out amongst the skyline, and it was there that Wally found him, stood on one of the maintenance walkways, leaning over the railing as he gazed down at him.

Wally thought he looked familiar, but couldn't quite place his face.

"What-", he cleared his throat after his voice quivered, he stood up straighter, ignoring the embarrassed flush that was growing across his cheeks, "what are you doing here?"

"Me? Looking for you", he responded simply, as though that wasn't a completely creepy thing to say. Ignorant, or uncaring of what he had just said, the stranger slid off the rung he was sitting on, dropping to the floor in front of him, rolling though with the impact, until he was back on his feet, "you are Wally West, right? The speedster who isn't actually being allowed to train and use his powers?"

"Who the hell are you?"

"My name's Roy Harper, but I prefer to go by Arsenal when I'm working. I was trained by the Green Arrow, and if you're interested, I have a message from him, for you"

Shifting between the balls of his feet, Wally debated his options. In his mind, there were three viable ones in front of him.

Option number one: He could run, moving quicker than the other guy - Roy - could keep up with. He could get Barry and his dad, throw this guy in the pipeline and leave him there until they figured out what was going on.

Option number two: He could try and take this guy himself, but… if he wasn't lying and he had been trained by the Green Arrow… there had to be a reason why Barry and Cisco, both of whom had incredibly super-strong super-powers, were kind of terrified of the guy, and that could mean this guy knew what he was doing. Not to mention whatever the Green Arrow would do to him if he managed to injure the guy's protégé.

Also… Arsenal did sound kind of familiar.

Okay, so option number two was probably out.

And then there was option number three…

Even by their usual standards, Wally had to admit that option number three was probably not a good idea.

It was potentially the most dangerous.

But he'd never been known for his good decision making skills anyway.

"Okay", he stuck out his hand to Roy, who immediately shook it with one of his own, "yeah, my name's Wally West… and I think I'd like to listen"


	4. Dinner Date

_'If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun'_

 _-Katharine Hepburn_

* * *

 **Titans**

 **Part One: Genesis**

 **Chapter Three: Dinner Date**

* * *

As he descended into the bunker, Oliver took a brief moment to smooth his face into the blank expression he'd mastered during his time away from the city. Back when he was stranded, but still finding himself studying under some of the best fighters the world had ever seen - the likes of the Celestial Archer, Yao Fei, his daughter and protégé, Shado, ASIS Agent Slade Wilson (who had gone on to become one of his worst enemies in the formerly Mirakuru-enhanced mercenary, Deathstroke 'the Terminator') and then there had been the ARGUS Agent Maseo Yamashiro, later known as Sarab of the League of Assassins (as well as his sword wielding wife Tatsu, who was now known as 'Katana').

Each one of his teachers had taught him something new along his journey, had taught him something that he could add to his ever-growing arsenal of skills, as he worked on honing his mind and body, turning himself into a walking weapon. Only once he was already a certified killing machine did Talia al Ghul come along and refine him even further, pushing him past his limits and giving him a persona, completing his transformation into the ruthless killer that had returned to Starling City.

He hated what he had become in that regard; hated how the darkness he had tried so desperately to avoid had come to penetrate every aspect of his life, but it was also the same thing that he wanted the potential new generation of heroes and vigilantes to avoid.

That itself was part of the reason that he had (eventually and under protest) agreed to take the Mirakuru-enhanced Roy Harper under his wing. It was the same reason he decided to help Thea learn to control herself, and even train a seemingly bloodthirsty Artemis alongside the rest of his new recruits, despite her young age of seventeen.

If they were going to be the next generation of defenders - _heroes_ \- he corrected himself mentally, then surely he had a duty to make damn sure that they were all as free of the darkness that plagued him as they could be.

The elevator came to a stop, jarring him out of his head, and as it was the early evening, not quite patrol time yet, he expected to see his team training away, warming themselves up before they decided upon the evening's routes. René would be at work cleaning his guns, or maybe hitting the bag with Diggle in the corner; Curtis would be on one of the Wing-Chun dummies, working on improving his reactions to being struck at; Rory would be trying to once again master the salmon ladder, despite the fact that he had an awful technique; and Evelyn would be sparring with Diggle (if he wasn't working with René), or taking the time to practice her archery on the range he'd had installed.

Felicity would no doubt be on one of her computers, doing something that nobody else, except for maybe Curtis, could understand.

What he didn't expect was to see Evelyn and Diggle having a stare down, with her red in the face from yelling no doubt, while everyone else was in the middle of trying to make a hasty exit.

"Hello…"

His voice trailed off as he saw the argument forming, but the combination of his greeting and his appearance into the room was enough to cause everyone to freeze where they were. The recruits and Felicity stopped from where they were in the middle of trying to escape to the outside, while Evelyn turned the full force of her glare on him, though it receded slightly, and he had to admit it wasn't a bad one.

It had nothing on the venom his mother could produce when she was enraged though.

He shrugged it off, even as John let out a muted, "Thank God", under his breath.

"Now, I know I took an extra day to get back, but I expected everything to be running fine, so could someone please tell me", he ran his eyes across them all, and watched as a few of them moved back, shrinking away from him in slight fear, "what the hell is going on?"

Before the others could attempt to get a word out, Evelyn used the distraction his entrance had caused to jump in front of the others, "Digg said he wouldn't let me go out into the field"

"Oh? Good", at her betrayed expression, he decided to explain, "he said that because I asked him to. That was my decision, not his"

"What?" Her face scrunched up in her anger for a moment, before she reined it back in, and turned her glare on him once again, "What the hell?"

He held up his hand to in an attempt to placate her, and it seemed to work somewhat, as she clamped down on her urge to argue with him, despite knowing that it would get her nowhere with him.

"We can talk later, in fact I came here to touch base, and tell you to get dressed"

"What? Why?"

"I've got dinner with my sister and you're coming too"

"I am?"

"Yes, go change. Now", she hesitated for a moment, before a pointed look from Oliver had her moving off towards the changing rooms, where there were a few spare dresses hanging up that she could borrow.

As she moved off to get changed, the others gradually returned to the room, sparing glances at Oliver, even as Diggle and Felicity moved towards the centre of the floor, and he stepped forward to meet them there.

"Everything else go alright while I was gone?"

"Other than that? No problems here. Curtis and René worked well together - better than I thought they would actually", Digg admitted with a slight shake of his head as the rest of the team began to gear up, "you sort out what you needed sorting?"

"It's all good on that front, but I'm planning another weekend trip in a few weeks. Can you handle things here again then?"

"Yeah, it's no problem man, but you better be warned", Digg levelled him with a glare that was filled with his own amusement, "I will be getting even for this"

"After all that time you got off, sitting in one of those comfy eight-by-eight cells, you want more? Careful Digg, or we're all going to start thinking you're getting greedy with the vacation days"

"Har har, look who went and found a sense of humour. Don't you have a dinner to get to?"

"Yeah, tell Curtis to give me a call when he's off patrol, I'm gonna go change before Evelyn does, that way Thea can't solely blame me when we're late"

It was Felicity's turn to smile up at him, "You know she'll blame you anyway, right?"

"I know, but I can dream, can't I?"

"Two jokes in one day", she leant up to pinch his cheek, and he pulled back, scowling as she laughed, and Diggle coughed into his sleeve, "keep this up and we'll all start to think you're becoming a real boy"

He rolled his eyes at the pair in front of him, "Just get to work. This city won't save itself you know"

* * *

"Okay brother dear, the restaurant is great, you're footing the bill by the way, and I got to wear my new dress, which is all great in theory, but you've got that look on your face which tells me that there's something serious you want to say to me - us"

"I don't have a look"

"You totally have a look", Evelyn added, as she swilled the straw around her soda, feeling disgruntled that she wasn't allowed to have the wine like the two of them, but Oliver Queen was no longer a carefree playboy billionaire, but the respectable Mayor of Star City, and with that level of responsibility, there was a certain image he had to retain in the public eye.

And a part of that was not allowing himself to be seen in the company of underage minors who he was allowing to drink.

"There's no look"

"There's a look", the two of them spoke in unison, prompting a round of giggles from the two of them, while he finished what little was left of his wine, fighting the urge to sigh and pour another glass while they calmed themselves down.

"So really Ollie, what'd ya bring us here for?"

"Straight to business huh? Alright, I'm working on putting together something new-"

"Like the recruits", Evelyn asked, and he nodded his head.

"It's similar idea, yes, and I was hoping that you'd both want to be a part of it"

"Told you there was something", Thea muttered to Evelyn, knowing that he could hear her, as he passed over the two brief files he'd brought for each of them.

"Hey, I didn't say you were wrong", was the reply she was given, while they both opened the files, and Oliver was glad that they'd been given a private booth and not an open table, as they began to read through his proposal.

As he was sat at the end closest to the main body of the restaurant, he ordered a round of coffee and asked for the cheque, giving the girls time to leaf through the pages, reading through its contents, as well as the notes he'd added at the side.

"You've really thought about this, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I have, but this invasion really made me move up my timetable. I had them working overtime to get the place up and running. On the upside though, I'm told that the security system is so secure even Felicity couldn't hack it"

"And can she?"

"I don't know, I haven't told her about it - I haven't told anyone about it, not really"

"Not really boss?"

"The others now know that there's a secure building, and where it is. They just think I bought it for our potential future rendezvouses, with whatever amount of funds I had Felicity 'liberate' from Merlyn, Slade and Darhk"

"And you saw no reason to correct them on that, did you?"

"Not even at all", he said with a smirk.

"Is this why you pulled me out of the field? You want me to do this instead?"

He turned to look at the youngest member of his team, she was only seventeen, but she was so full of passion that she honestly amazed him at times, "Yes. I think that you could learn a lot here, learn a lot from the others I've called about this, and I think you'll find that it's a better fit for you in the long run"

"Alright then. I'm in", at his surprised look, she added, "hey, I asked you to train me to kick ass; if you think that this is a better way for me to learn how to do it, then I'll trust your judgement. I'll be there"

"Thank you 'Mis", he turned back to his sister, "and what about you?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're lost", the honesty in his words shocked her, and she soon gave him her full attention, "you're floundering Thea, and you know it. You've got all this training now, from me, from Merlyn, and we were both taught by the best in the world, only now you don't know what to do with it. I think it's time you did something positive with it"

"I need time Ollie. I need to think about it"

"That's fine. You saw the date in there, six weeks away, and if it'll help you make your decision, I think I've got the perfect man lined up to take over your duties as my Chief of Staff"

* * *

"Alright you guys, dinner is served"

"Ooh spaghetti"

Barry let his eyes run across the table laden with food, as he sat down next to Iris at Joe's dinner table, and reached for the nearest slice of garlic bread, only to have his hand immediately swatted away by his adoptive father, "Wait for Wally"

The young CSI pouted, but didn't have to wait for very long, as a burst of yellow lightning lit up the room, and the youngest member of the West-Allen clan appeared in the hallway; a definite spring in his step and a massive smile across his face, which had definitely not been there during their talk in the speed lab earlier.

Barry thought that Wally would've still been mad.

"What's got you in such a good mood?"

Apparently, he wasn't the only curious one, as Iris immediately went into her investigative journalist mode, and Wally rocked about on the balls of his feet, moving quickly enough that Barry could practically feel his excitement flowing through the Speed Force.

"I just got offered a job"

Of all of the things Barry had envisioned Wally saying to them when he got back home, that hadn't been in his top five.

Or even his top ten.

Or twenty.

"What?"

At least Iris' brain was still working.

"Who offered you a job? You just started college"

Joe trailed off, unsure of what to say next, and Wally, seemingly not sensing his dad's slightly upset tone, continued, in the same excited tone he'd started in, "That's just it - I got it through college. Apparently, they saw the aircraft turbine supercar designs I submitted as part of my application, and the college passed my design onto them. They told me that if I'm prepared to work for them, then they'll pay to put me through college, so no tuition fees, and then they'll pay me a wage as long as I agree to work part-time for them too. The only other thing I have to do is transfer - same course, different location"

"Where? Where is it - the job, I mean?"

Barry's question caused him Wally to slow down slightly for the first time since he'd arrived, and he could detect an air of uneasiness about the man, "It's in Jump City"

"What?!"

Joe stood up in surprise, mouth agape as he looked as his youngest son, "But that's… that's on the other side of the country!"

"Yeah, so?" Wally slid into a seat, and began spooning spaghetti onto a plate, "It's like, a ten-minute jog to get there on a slow day, and even then, that's if I take it easy"

"So", Barry grabbed some of the garlic bread, cutting Joe off as the elder West sat back down, willing to let the scientist talk to the scientist, "did they give you a deadline for when you have to get a response back to them?"

"Oh, I already said yes", Wally either ignored his father's eyes widening at his statement, or just didn't notice - Barry wasn't completely sure, "I mean, how often do you get a chance to do something like this?"

"So, who is it that gave you the offer?"

Wally swallowed an amount of spaghetti that gave the others pause, "It's a new tech company that's just opened up, they're doing work into experimental and advanced technology, huh", he adopted a surprised look, "kinda like STAR Labs actually"

"So advanced research?"

"Yeah but it's all cutting-edge tech only - there won't be anything like what Caitlin does, or any particle accelerators being built for that matter"

"So basically", Iris cut in with a grin, "it's a company of Ciscos?"

Wally and Barry chuckled, as the younger speedster answered his sister, "Something like that yeah - they're still setting up and are looking for 'talented individuals'", he made quotation marks with his hands, "and once they saw my streamlined design for the turbo-charged cars, they decided that they had to snap me up"

"And do _they_ ", Joe spoke up for the first time since he'd sat down, "have a name?"

"Oh yeah, they're a company called Q-Core and the owner is some guy called Conner Hawke"

"And you don't know who that is?"

"No, the rep they sent out to me was a man called Jason Anders, who deals with recruitment and oversees the needs of the personnel for the company"

"So, an unknown man approached you, working for a company you've never heard of, and you said yes?" Joe wasn't happy, and his tone of voice made that clear, "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I was never going to get a chance like this - it was a limited time opportunity, and there were only three slots"

"And who's getting the other two?"

"Let's see, there was a girl named Evelyn Sharp", Wally took a quick look at Barry, and was glad to see he didn't recognise the name, "and another girl, err… I think her surname was Dearden or something weird like that"

"You know things like this aren't uncommon", Barry interjected, turning everyone's attention to him, "I was offered a spot at Mercury Labs before I was one hundred percent certain that I wanted to become a CSI"

"I know, I know", Joe brushed his hand over his forehead, "and sometimes I wish you'd taken it, but then you probably wouldn't be The Flash and who knows what kind of state this city'd be in then"

"Yeah", the man nodded his head slowly, "it's funny how things work out sometime", he smiled to himself before turning back towards their youngest member, "so when does it start?"

"It starts on the eighteenth-"

"What!? But that's only-"

"-of next month"

"-a few weeks away", Joe trailed off, his dismayed tone floundering.

"I know", Wally's tone was back to one of confusion, "that's why I'm telling you all straight away. It was a make-or-break decision and I made it", he turned to look at them all one-by-one, "I thought you'd all be happy for me"

"We are Wally", Iris reached over the table, grabbing one of his hands with her own, "It's just a lot to take in. you're telling us that we only have a few more weeks with you before you move across the country"

Joe nodded in agreement as he sat back in his chair, slumping slightly, "I'm not happy you're gonna be so far away, but I _am_ proud of you", he leant other to give his son's shoulder a squeeze, "and I know your mom would be too"

Wally swallowed, before reaching up and squeezing his hand back, "Thanks Dad"

The four of them settled into a comfortable silence, enjoying their food while Barry and Wally fought mostly in silence over what was left of the spaghetti and garlic bread.

"So, Wally", Barry swallowed the last of his food, turning to the man he was coming to think of as a brother with a smile on his face, letting Wally take what was left of the garlic bread, "what're you looking forward to the most at college?"

Wally grinned.

* * *

With the plastic dinner tray in hand, he made his way across the dirt and twigs that made up the island's ground, ignoring the constant crunching as he came to a stop at the circle of solid, reinforced steel that made up the sole entrance to their underground prison.

Reaching down, he typed in the four-digit access code, placing the tray on a slab of metal that would lower it down as he climbed down the small eight-foot ladder.

There were only five cells inside, only two of which had been used in the last decade, and only one of them was currently in use, while the regular occupant of the other had been whisked away for an interrogation session, leaving only one man that had to be fed that evening.

"Dinner", he called out, as he stepped up to the far cell, and handed the tray between the bars, the prisoner taking it wordlessly, "potatoes look good today. I'd have them last though", he called out, as he left the other man behind, closing the hatch behind him.

Feeling curious, the sole prisoner sat up on his cot, and a quick look at the mashed potatoes was all he needed to know that something was wrong with them, even if they looked mostly realistic.

Trusting his instincts, he turned it over, not surprised to find that it crumbled in his hands, before he got to the very centre, where it was solid.

Wiping the crumbling mess from his hands, he grinned to himself in the darkness.

No matter how long it had been, he'd recognise a block of C4 anywhere.


	5. Together

_'You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be_ '

 _-David Viscott_

* * *

 **Titans**

 **Part One: Genesis**

 **Chapter Four: Together**

* * *

" _Que paso_ man?"

"Hey Paco"

Dropping against the wall to sit next to his best friend, the Mexican-American took a bite of the bagel he was offered, savouring the two bites he took of the hot, but plain bread, before he handed it back to him with a grateful nod, "Thanks _ese_. I really needed that"

"I figured", Paco swallowed down what was left of the bagel, "I saw you coming back late last night. You looked exhausted dude"

"Tell me about it", he flexed out the muscles in his shoulder, feeling a twinge in the spot where they had bunched up yesterday, and were still sore and tense, "Walker's got us working longer hours now. Apparently the job's way behind schedule, and the guys at Kord's are saying that he needs to finish on time, so that means more hours for us"

"Yeah well, you're getting paid for it though right?"

He snorted, even as he passed a roll of bills to his friend, who promptly shoved them under his pillow, where they could grab them later, "Hey, I'm gonna go hit the park for a bit, see if anyone's up for a challenge. You in man?"

"Nah man", Paco sat up straighter against the wall while his friend grabbed his board from underneath one of the piles of clothes they had lying under the structure of corrugated iron and sheeting that made up their makeshift home, and slipping on a helmet he stepped out from underneath, "there's talk of some work going down near the docks, you know, just moving stuff here, there and the like. I'm gonna go take a look, see if I can get something going _para mi_ "

"Alright then _ese_ , let me know how it turns out when I get back"

"I will man. You gonna be bringing dinner back wit' you?"

"I'll see what I can do man. Later _hermano_!"

" _Adios_ bro!"

* * *

"Is this it? It seems kinda…"

"Dull", Evelyn supplied, as she stepped out of the back seat of the SUV, finishing off Thea's question off, as the other girl joined her looking up at the plain white warehouse, "plain, completely bore-"

"-Plain is a good word", Oliver slid out of the driver's seat, coming to stand next to them and revealing the suit he wore, a light grey which he had chosen to accent with an emerald green tie, which was loosely hanging around his neck. Evelyn was dressed in what she wore as Artemis, a black leather jacket and some dark blue skinny jeans, also without her mask, and Thea was wearing an outfit similar to hers, except she was wearing it in all black, with a bright red t-shirt, "plain means nothing special, so it also means that no one will be looking at it", Oliver continued his explanation, as he came to stand beside them both, "and no one looking at it, means that it is the perfect place to house my new team. So", he turned to face them, "I'll ask one more time. Are you both sure you want to do this? This is pretty much the last time you can still say no"

"Oh, I'm definitely in GA"

"Absolutely Ollie"

"Oh, well, in that case, you can definitely count me in too then"

Having heard his first student approaching them from behind the van, Oliver didn't flinch at the sound of his voice, whereas Evelyn's hands flew to grab a bow that didn't exist, and Thea's head whipped around searching him out, as he came to stand next to Oliver, decked out in his old trademarked blue jeans and red hoodie, with a sports bag slung over his shoulders, before he came to a stop at the older man's shoulder.

"So how've you been boss?"

"Me? I'm fine Roy, thanks for asking. Yourself?"

"I'm doin' pretty good thanks"

"So, how was Hub City?"

"It was cold, well colder than Starling anyway"

"Actually we're going by Star City these days"

"Oh right. I heard about the whole rebranding thing", he nodded along, "but seriously though it rained a lot, and I mean _a lot._ I was always forgetting my coat when I went out too. Come to think of it, there wasn't a lot of crime there either"

"Ah, so you got bored there then?"

"Oh my god yes, I st-"

He was cut off by Thea striking him on the back of the head, before pulling him into a hug, which he was only far too eager to return, lifting her off her feet slightly, and keeping her there until the Star City vigilante pointedly cleared his throat. They released each other, both smiling like fools, while still slightly pink in their cheeks.

"I missed you", she looked at him softly, before glaring slightly, "and you're an idiot"

Roy grinned, "I missed you too", was his response, completely ignoring the insult levelled at him, before he turned his attention back to his mentor, "so where is our fourth man anyway?"

"Did he say he was coming?"

"Oh yeah, I helped him get set up with that cover story like you said to. He seemed pretty excited about it all too - definitely wants to get better, get faster, do his part to help out"

"Good, that's good… so he's just running late then"

"That's it, I mean, I don't get it, just… how can he be late? He has superspeed for god's sake!"

Oliver fought the urge to both, smile, and roll his eyes, thinking of the very number of times he'd asked Barry that exact same question, only for the younger man to smile at him and then laugh it off, "Just, just don't ask, it'll hurt your head less"

They were cut off from further conversation by a flash of yellow lightning, and the quartet turned to face their newest arrival. Dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a yellow-lined black hoodie, Wally West stood opposite them, with a sports bag wrapped around him, like Roy had, but his was strapped as tightly to his back as he could get it, so much so that he immediately had to lessen it when he stopped, but it had done its job well, and hadn't blown off when he was running over to them from Central City.

"Aw man", the young speedster took in the four of them, before blowing out his breath in a huff, "I knew I'd be the last one here"

Ignoring his disappointment, Roy stepped forward and offered his hand, which he was quick to take, recognising him, "It's good to see you here Wally"

"Yeah well, I couldn't let the Green Arrow's guys have all the fun, and I couldn't not show you all why us speedsters rule"

"Yeah, yeah, and just who exactly was it that _trained_ The Flash again? Or who's the one that The Flash calls for _help_ when he's stuck?"

"That's enough you two", Oliver stepped forward to break them up before their teasing progressed further than it should, though he felt a slight swell of pride in his chest, at the sight of Roy defending him, even as he ignored the wide-eyed, and slightly awestruck, look he was given, as Wally took in the suit, "now boys, I don't have all day you know, some of us have real jobs to get back to, cities to help run-"

"Masked supervillains to help stop, new recruits to train, reporters to screw…"

She trailed off, unconcerned as the Green Arrow sent a glare to his sister, who simply shrugged back, completely unapologetic as she mimed ticking off her fingers, and he rolled his eyes in response, "Come on then, let's get you all inside"

He led the way past their SUV, and towards the warehouse's sole door, which was only unlockable by palm print, before he placed his hand on the reader, letting it scan all give fingerprints. It took a moment, before responding with a small beep, accepting the code and activating the entire building, bringing all of its systems online and letting the door open with the sound of an electromagnet disengaging. Stepping past the entryway, they all, (those that had seen it), expected to find a set-up that was similar to what Oliver had in the Arrowcave, (though for some reason, the man himself still refused to call it that).

What they got instead, was to be greeted by an all-white corridor.

The concrete floor was painted white, as were the walls and ceiling. The only break in it was at the far end, where there was another door, only this time, there was no apparent way to get it open.

"Sweet", Wally was the last one to step inside, letting the door swing closed behind him, "I mean, if you like white that is"

"So now what do we-"

Evelyn's question was interrupted when the electromagnets that held the door reactivated with a low hum, and a small silver rod, no thicker than the average drinking glass, lowered itself from the ceiling slowly, roughly the length of their hands, and sent out a small, scanning blue light that ran over Oliver from head-to-toe.

"Ollie, what's-"

 _"Recognised: Green Arrow Zero-One"_

"Dude, is that a full body biometric scanner?"

Oliver smirked at Wally's eagerness, before the same blue light ran over the rest of them, _"Speedy B-Zero-Two, Artemis B-Zero-Four, Arsenal B-Zero-One, Impulse B-Zero-Three"_

"Impulse?"

The door ahead of them began to lower into the floor, as Oliver answered Wally's question over his shoulder, "Ah, well I asked around discretely before I decided to recruit you, apparently they were all calling you 'Kid Flash' in this other timeline Barry created? Yeah, well I think that's _kind of_ a stupid name, I mean you're eighteen - a legal adult - not an eight year old child, so that's just not happening here. And then to cut a long story short, I ran through a list of words relating to speed, and eventually I got up to the word impulse, because the body's impulses and reactions move faster than we can even think. I thought it was a nice fit, is there a problem with it? Because I can always programme a different name for you, if you want to?"

"Nah, I actually like it… Wally West, AKA Impulse, soon to be the fastest man alive… s'actually kinda cool when you get used to it"

Ignoring his rambling, the others stepped through the door, following the older hero and their mentor, as they took their first look at the base that was going to become their new home.

The floor was all panelled in pale grey and white tiles, and the walls were painted in a pale blue colour. The main room was full of furniture, and they could all see a kitchen through a door and a hole in the wall, which meant they could eat there, and still see the rest of the place.

The ceiling was high, and the room was lit by industrial lights, which had been installed as part of the warehouse's security upgrades.

Oliver was happy to see that the others weren't questioning how everything had happened, which suited him just fine. He'd only bought the hangar off of STAR Labs a few weeks ago, and it had taken a bit of bribing on his part to get Sara to go back in time and book contractors to get the work done, while Ray and Jax had handled the rest of his security measures.

He had to admit, as much as it bothered that he had been forced to ask for their help, they _had_ done very good work, and they'd done it to his extremely tight schedule.

He would actually have to say 'thank you' to them, the next time he saw them.

"This is the main room, which I've taken to calling 'The Hub'. Here you'll find all of the basic amenities you'll use on a day to day basis. The TV links up to a satellite that Ray and I may or may not have used our resources to discretely place-"

"-To probably try and appease Felicity for something stupid the two of you-"

"-I think that's enough from you Speedy", he levelled her with a glare that had everyone else slightly worried while she just shrugged him off, completely unconcerned, and he continued, "the point is that I can reach you, and you can reach me, at any point. I already had an alert set up on my phone"

"Wait", Evelyn looked at him, "you won't be staying with us?"

He shook his head, "I can't, like I said before, I have responsibilities in Star City that will take up most of my time, I'll be coming back to test you all on occasion", he ran his eyes over all of them, and Wally looked nervous at the thought, "and when required, I will personally deploy you on your missions, but I can't stay here permanently. I did however, find you all a suitable sitter", as he spoke the sound of heels on the floor grew louder, and from out of one of the corridors leading away from The Hub stepped an Asian woman that only Thea recognised, "this is my friend Tatsu Yamashiro from Japan. She is one of the many people who have helped me get where I am today, and she has agreed to try and do the same for you. The others have also taken to calling her Katana"

* * *

His men fell silent as he approached, each one of them coming to stand to attention as he walked past, bringing their staffs straight, as their red capes fell still behind them.

Dressed in his armour, resplendent in purple and gold, he climbed the steps to his throne, taking a seat as he removed his helmet, handing it off to the servant that had immediately stepped forward to take it, and offer him a glass of one of the mortal realm's finest wines.

"Tonight, my friends, we have moved one step closer to achieving my goal of once again re-establishing my rightful rule over this land. Once we have my final piece in place, we shall step forth into the light, and take our place as the rightful owners of this land. Our people will rejoice as they sing our names as songs of praise, and our enemies will be crushed beneath my boot", he clenched his fist, before he relaxed, purposefully flexing it, and watching as lightning danced across his fingertips, as a smile lit up his face, "but tonight, we feast, and then, tomorrow, we will retake our place as the gods of this land!"

His speech was met with cheers and the banging of their staffs against the floor, before the servants set out the feast in front of him. Idly, he helped himself to some of the more sumptuous fruits, and watched on as his subjects dined, for soon, the rest of the world would know that their gods had, once more, been returned to them.

* * *

"Hello", Tatsu's voice was quiet and polite, with only the slightest tinge of her Japanese accent leaking through, but other than that, her English sounded excellent, "I look forward to working with you all"

At their confused looks he decided to explain, "As all of you are still new to this, I've asked her to step in and help train all of you. You will find that she has much to teach you, as she was once responsible for teaching me, and she is an expert with all forms of swordsmanship. She'll also be responsible for your hand-to-hand training. I expect you all to keep up with your own specialised training", he sent a quick glance to Wally, who nodded his understanding that Oliver in particular had meant his speed training, "but for now, let me show you around"

He led them through 'The Hub', showing them the different user interfaces, as well as having all of their fingerprints scanned in for complete access. Off to the side, he took them through the kitchen, which in addition to being enormous, was fully stocked in terms of appliances and food, much to Wally's delight, as it also included the calorie-heavy power bars he needed to consume, in order to help maintain his bodyweight and muscle mass.

Their next stop was the second of three doors leading away from 'The Hub', not counting the entry way, which lead to an extremely long corridor lined with doors that led to the different bedrooms, with Tatsu already having claimed one that was halfway down the hall, an ideal place to be located, should anything happen at either side.

Oliver was aware that the others were scoping out the rooms, hoping to get the 'best' one, which was why he hadn't told them that they were all identical. There was a nice amount of space, although they weren't overly large, and each one came with a bed, desk, closet and a small en suite bathroom. At the very end of the hall, the rooms were larger, but designed for couples to stay in, such as Barry and Iris, when he finally got around to telling the speedster and his girlfriend that this place existed.

"You can all pick a bedroom later and customise it however you want", his voice broke them from their musings, as they turned to each other to grin, "but for now let's stay focused and just get through this"

He led them upstairs, which he had converted into a few small conference rooms, as well as one really large one, where everyone that could possibly fit in had a seat, with icons representing their identities on the back of their chairs. They could make out a green arrowhead for the Green Arrow, the Flash's lightning bolt, the symbols for Firestorm and the Hawks further around the round table, before the four were ushered out by their trainer and handler, and led up to the roof, which he explained was just a large landing space for the Waverider, more than anything else.

Once they were happy, he led them back downstairs, and underground to the lower of the building's two sub-levels, where Thea and Evelyn found their motorcycles from the Arrow-cave, and Roy was happy to see that his old one was there, as well as the car Ray had bought for him before he'd left Starling City and gone into hiding.

Not wanting him to feel left out despite the fact that he could run faster than all of them when they were on their bikes, Oliver had also outfitted Wally with a small, but fast black sports car and motorcycle of his own, handing over the keys with a gruff, "No street racing", as the boy began planning the various ways he could enhance it using all of the equipment that had been provided for their use.

Ten minutes later, when Oliver was no longer amused by Wally and Roy comparing their cars, and the girls were bored by the mindless banter, he dragged Wally, allowing Tatsu to force Roy, out of the garage and maintenance area, and back up to the first sub-level.

To the training rooms.

They, in Oliver's mind, having trained mostly on an island, were his pièce de résistance - a master piece of a training area, which he had started to design for his own personal use, and back then all he'd needed where dummies and targets, but then Slade brought Mirakuru soldiers into his city, and eventually he'd increased it to allow for Barry's use as well. From there he had just kept adding to the plans, piece-by-piece, and bit-by-bit, constantly upgrading all of the technology involved, until it had become what it was now.

The main floor was made of a material that none of them recognised. It was pale blue-green colour, but had a completely solid look to it, as if it was made of coloured concrete, but still held a shine to it, making it look like it was made of glass or plastic.

There was a monitor on the wall large enough to make even Felicity jealous, and when Oliver stepped onto the floor, it came alive, showing a small picture of his vigilante appearance, with 'GREEN ARROW' written alongside it. Below that were his current vital readouts, which were all blank, as they would be tracked through his suit, and as he moved, the floor beneath his feet lit up.

He explained it as best he could, though he had readily admitted that his own understanding of the technology was limited at best, but the floor was designed to track his movements while he was on it, as it was designed for sparring practice.

Ideally two people (or more) would spar on the large area, and the computer would record their movements, fight patterns, the time spent fighting and the result. All of which could be brought up from a computer terminal to help each individual improve their skills.

"And yes Wally", he spared a glance at the boy, "it is fast enough to keep up with you"

The young speedster grinned in response, "For now"

He nodded in agreement, "For now", before his gaze swept over them all, before he pointed to three of the training rooms four adjoining rooms, one after the other, "armoury, speed circuit, target range. You all now have access to all of them, and I expect you to familiarise yourselves with them, and make good use of them when you don't have an active mission, but for now, there is only one room left to show you, so if you'll all follow me"

He led them over to the fourth room - the only room in the entire building that they hadn't yet been in, having finally come to the end of Oliver's tour. The white door opened before they got there, operating on the same motion-sense technology as the rest of the building, and they stepped inside.

The room appeared to be a corridor, one that was not overly high, starting out wide and growing narrower in the distance, with the walls of the room appearing to be lined with frosted glass that none of them could see straight through.

"Okay Ollie, what's-"

As Tatsu and Wally stepped through the door, the last of them entering the room, six of the doors lowered into the ground, sliding down to reveal their most essential piece of equipment.

Their armour.

Directly in front of the door was a second set of Green Arrow gear, complete with a fully-stocked quiver and spare bow alongside it. Alongside the wall and to the left was a set of light armour, as well as a face mask bearing the Japanese flag, and a single katana sword, which they all correctly assumed belonged to Tatsu.

At the very beginning of the room, rather than at the end, four more pods appeared to have been set aside from the others, as their doors also began to lower themselves down, and Thea immediately recognised Roy's old suit, which she had modified into the Speedy outfit she wore on patrol, as well as her bow, quiver, and the small sword she'd begun to carry after going through training with Malcolm.

"Roy, your new Arsenal outfit is the second one on the left. Evelyn, I've also taken the liberty of having a real Artemis outfit created for you, and it's the one next to Wally's; Wally, the new Impulse gear is on your right-"

He barely had time to say what it was he wanted, before he was cut off by a flash of yellow lightning, and Wally was stood in front of him, decked out in yellow and red. All Oliver had done was taken Wally's 'Flashpoint' design - he still didn't completely understand everything Barry had told him about that (time travel was confusing) - and added some lightweight armour throughout the suit; the same type of armour which he still insisted Barry needed, as well as some extra padding at the shoulders and knees, in order to help with high speed collisions.

He was quite proud of it actually; he'd never had the chance to design armour for a metahuman before.

"What are these for?"

The speedster waved the red goggles in his face, before snatching his hand back when a scowl crossed Oliver's.

"These are for field use. There's night vision, thermal vision, and some basic scanning features, which you should try out. It's the type of stuff our masks", he indicated himself and his three protégés, "can't have, but I think should. I thought it'd be useful for someone on the team to have one, and it should slot in behind your belt buckle while you're running. Just tap the button on the side to cycle through the various modes"

"Sweet", not wasting anytime, the boy set about playing with his goggles, while Oliver led Thea, Roy and Evelyn to the new outfits, giving a brief outline as he went.

Roy's new Arsenal suit was a reflection of Oliver's Green Arrow suit, mixed in with his former Arsenal one that Thea had adapted; paying an homage to the training he'd undergone with Oliver, but recognising that he was now more than capable of standing on his own. Instead of being nearly completely green or red, the top was now made of a dark shade of purple, with black accents, while the hood was also the same shade of purple, the mask and gloves were black. The trousers were the same ones he had worn as Arsenal, with a small band of purple trimming at the point where his boots met the legs.

Oliver had also seen fit to include a new thigh holster for his twin Escrima sticks, as well as new shatterproof sticks to actually go in them, an all-black quiver, with purple-tipped black arrows, and in the cubicles final slot, was a bow that was identical to the one the Green Arrow used, though it was slightly shorter, in order to compensate for Roy's slightly smaller frame.

Unlike Arsenal, Artemis would be wearing the exact same shade of green that her mentor did, in a suit that seemed to combine elements of the Green Arrow and Speedy. Her boots and trousers were the same that Thea would be wearing, but unlike hers, Evelyn's had been crafted in the same colours as Oliver's.

The top part of the body was a slim-fitting version of what Oliver wore, but where he had his zipper going down the front, her own went down the back, unseen, and much less visible, instead the front chest of her suit was covered in a large, pale yellow arrowhead, and when she ran her fingers across it, she found that it had been reinforced, and she smiled, remembering his lesson on drawing attention to areas where they had the most protection. He'd given her gauntlets and shoulder pads, like his first Green Arrow suit, instead of the sleeves he currently wore, which was the way she preferred it. She'd also been provided with a new full-face green mask, in almost the same design as Wally's. It would replace her black domino eye mask, but unlike with Oliver, Roy and Thea, there was no hood, leaving her free to pull her hair back into a long ponytail.

"Sweet", was Evelyn's only response as she picked up her new black bow, as she let her gaze run over the green arrows, before it landed on the small collapsible crossbow and thigh-holster that was also present, turning to her mentor, with a raising eyebrow, she smirked, as his own rose in tandem.

"For emergency use only - _don't_ ", he stressed the word, "become reliant on it"

"I won't, I promise", was all she said before Roy, having waited long enough, grabbed his suit and headed for the changing room, and after a moment's hesitation, she followed.

Oliver turned in time to see Thea and her Speedy gear following Evelyn, while Wally was busy admiring himself in the mirror. Catching Tatsu's eyes, he rolled his own with a smirk on his face, as if to say ' _kids_ ', while she smiled, before closing the door to her own armour, and the two of them left for the kitchen, where Tatsu would make the two of them tea.

* * *

Four hours later, at just past two in the afternoon, Oliver had long since finished the training session he'd decided to put them all through to break in their new suits, changed out of his workout gear and back into his normal suit and tie, and had then enjoyed catching up with Tatsu over a pot of her tea when the others finally decided to re-join them.

Thea was the first one back, having had enjoyed a longer and more thorough workout than her brother, testing to make sure she still felt confident enough in her own skills to go back out into the field, followed by a long shower. When she walked into the kitchen, she headed straight for the coffee machine, putting on a fresh pot, and dressed in black skinny jeans, ankle boots and a red plaid shirt over a t-shirt of a band Oliver didn't recognise; she spared the two fully-trained heroes a nod in lieu of a greeting, while she waited for the others.

Roy and Evelyn followed in quick succession, the former dressed in a red hoodie and jeans, which came as a surprise to absolutely no one that knew him, while Evelyn wore her favourite black leather jacket, jeans and a green t-shirt. Both of them headed for the coffee that Thea had already helped herself to, and managed to grab a cup, before a flash of yellow lightning flew past them, and poured the rest of it into an extra-large mug, before Wally came to a stop in front of them, casually leaning against the counter, dressed in a pair of blue jeans, with a black shirt over a yellow t-shirt and a pair of trainers.

"Hey guys", he offered, before quickly draining what was left of the coffee, before looking at Roy and Evelyn, "so how're the suits?"

"Mine's a good fit"

"Pretty sweet. How's your-"

"Eh hem", Oliver cleared his throat, cutting off whatever they were going to say, "I was being polite, but I do have a few more things to say before I have to leave", he paused to see that they were all listening, before reaching into the duffel bag at his feet, and pulling out five mobile devices, that other than the large glossy circled 'T' embossed on the back, looked exactly like normal smartphones.

"These", he explained as he tossed one to each of them, "were designed by Mister Terrific for my team, but we turned them down in favour of Overwatch's latest upgrade to our communications. They function as normal smartphones using our own satellite, but they also have an instant communication line to the other four, constant tracking, as well as a 'panic' button, which, yes Wally, I stole from Team Flash. Should any of you ever be caught in a situation out of uniform, I thought these would be a better fit for you guys"

"Does Curtis know that you've taken them?"

Oliver expertly ignored his sister's question, "Keep these on you at _all_ times", he finished, making sure to look all of them, including Tatsu, in the eye, "I also have one, and I'll be alerted if three of you hit the panic button within a ten-minute period. If that happens, Tatsu and I will drop whatever we're doing and make our way to your last known location"

Seeing that they understood, he nodded to himself, before reaching down once more, and sliding each of them a plain black rectangle.

"Credit cards for your personal use, paid for through the Team Arrow funds", he crinkled his nose at the use of the name he usually ignored, "you can use them to buy clothes, food, necessities, and have a little fun with them", at that, their collective faces morphed into shocked expressions, and Oliver chuckled, "just don't go overboard, I'm not any of your fathers, and I won't act like it - Thea gets made when I try - but please be somewhat responsible. There's a small amount that will be added each month, but if you want to get a job in your spare time and supplement your income, then that's fine with me"

"Thank you, Oliver"

"You got it boss"

"Sweet, that's pretty cool GA. Thanks"

"That's pretty awesome man"

"No promises Ollie"

They all slid their cards into the purses and wallets, while Oliver stood, collecting his bag from the floor, and looking at them all, "I have to go now, I need to get back to being the mayor of my city, and I want to leave before I change my mind about the cards", he bent down to kiss Thea on the cheek, and hug Tatsu, who was on her way out of the kitchen, "Wally, Evelyn, don't forget to that you have actual classes to attend. I'm paying for them through Q-Core, so please don't waste them. Other than that, I'll be in touch"

The four of them hung stayed silent long enough to hear the computer announce " _Recognised:_ _Green Arrow Zero-One"_ , before Thea bounced out of her sea with a grin, and turned to face them all, flashing her purse.

"I say that no decorations, not many clothes and a new, Oliver-approved credit card equals a shopping trip, followed by a team dinner", she flashed them all a grin, "so who's with me?"


	6. Faith Given

_'Show faith in someone who is struggling to make it, and you just might help them succeed'_

 _-Unknown_

* * *

 **Titans**

 **Part One: Genesis**

 **Chapter Five: Faith Given**

* * *

It was by unanimous decision, having realised that they would need the extra space it had, that they decided to take the spare SUV that had been left at the hangar, rather than using their own cars and bikes to go shopping. The only problem they had was deciding who would drive, as things grew tense for a moment, when both Wally and Roy moved to grab they keys.

The solution presented itself when Thea took the keys out of their hands, Evelyn called shotgun, leaving the two boys wondering just what had happened, as they moved to pile into the backseat.

Given that neither Roy or Evelyn owned much in the way of clothing to begin with, and that most of Thea and Wally's belongings were staying at their respective homes, Thea declared that a round of clothes shopping was the first item on their to-do-list.

"And just who put you in charge of this imaginary list?" Roy asked from the backseat, while Thea raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow in response.

"If it's imaginary, then it doesn't really matter now, does it? Now, be quiet and do as you're told Harper"

"And I guess that I'm just supposed to stand there and try on whatever the hell you want me to Queen?"

"You bet your ridiculously fine ass that's right. Will that be a problem?"

He chuckled, "No ma'am", before he settled back into his seat, gazing out the window, while Thea looked for the nearest shopping mall or department store that took her fancy.

* * *

"Is everyone in position?"

"Yes My Lord. All of your soldiers are ready. We await only your command"

"Then spread the word throughout all of my kingdom, the time of the gods is at hand. Tell all of our loyal devotees: it begins tonight"

* * *

"Finally", Wally proclaimed with an exaggerated sigh as he slid into one of the chairs at their private booth, ignoring the reproachful looks from the restaurant's other patrons and the 'shush' he earned from Thea.

His joy at finally being able to eat however, did not diminish the matching looks of slight amazement he and Evelyn had given the restaurant when Thea had led the three of them inside. While admittedly still somewhat amazed at the grandeur of it all, Roy had grown almost used to similar places back in Starling City, and was therefore able to hide his own expression behind a mildly charming smile, falling into a smirk, as he tried not to laugh at the expressions of the other two.

All it took was the mere mention of her name and a flash of her credit card for Thea to get them their own private booth, while she paid no attention to the disgruntled expressions of the people who had obviously been waiting some time for their tables, their server for the evening smiled widely, as he led them to their booth and she ordered a bottle of wine for the table.

Personally, Roy felt that Wally's expression of gratefulness was merited, given that the all of the shopping the two of them had done was equal to an hour each for their clothes, before they'd grabbed a few things they'd need for their rooms, including their preferred brands of toothpaste and aftershave.

The girls meanwhile, had managed to spend the remainder of the afternoon they had on clothes alone, asking for their opinion on what felt like everything the store had to offer, before moving onto the other stuff they needed - they'd even managed to get the boys to agree to have actual suits made up, including the ones they were wearing, claiming they could be useful for undercover work, and having had to watch Wally, their overly energetic speedster, try and stay still for long enough to be measured was enough of a deterrent for Roy to not want to go again.

He couldn't argue with their taste in clothes though.

Thea had gotten him into a light grey, three piece suit, which came complete with a pale purple shirt, and a tie that had been custom made into the exact same shade of purple as his 'other' suit. Thea had then dragged him off for a matching pair of brown Italian leather shoes, belt and wallet, before shrugging, and grabbing him a watch too.

It was more money than he'd ever really feel comfortable spending, especially given that it was technically Team Arrow's money, but Thea had given him 'that' look, which told him she thought he was being stupid, and he just paid for it all without any questions asked.

Sat opposite him in the booth, Wally was dressed in a solid black, two piece suit and tie, which was highlighted with a bright yellow shirt and pocket square. While Evelyn had made sure to get him a belt and wallet like his, Wally had refused a watch, saying the speed he moved at made watches useless to him, as they were always falling behind, and bought a pair of sunglasses instead.

He'd then rattled off some actual scientific facts about the time difference, including talking about something to do with Einstein, but the other three just hadn't understood a word he'd said in the slightest.

While it was Roy and Wally's opinion that the two of them did look quite handsome in their new attire, even if they had suffered to get it, neither one of them believed that they looked worth anything when they were compared to the two girls.

Evelyn had managed to acquire a vibrant red, form-fitting dress, which was designed with a crisscross pattern over her chest and neck, which went down to her knees. She'd paired it with a pair of small golden heels and matching clutch purse, before adding a small golden necklace with an arrowhead pendant that had come as a set of two. Her hair was pulled back into her preferred long ponytail, which reached the small of her back. The temporary hair dye she normally used had begun to wear off during the day, and if they looked closely, they could see a few streaks of blonde poking through the dark brown mass.

Thea was wearing the second necklace with an arrowhead pendant, with her hair blown out, falling in wavy chops down to her shoulders. She had decided on a single-shoulder black dress, which fell down to just above her knees. She'd finished the look off with a pair of glossy black stiletto heels, and her own matching purse.

The four of them were just starting to make small talk, when their waiter came back over. He introduced himself a 'Jacques', despite the fact that he was obviously a local, and proceeded to ask them, in a very bad French accent, what they would like to order.

None of them were given the chance to answer before an explosion tore through the wall.

* * *

 _"This is the latest update, coming to you live from Jump City. Mysterious soldiers are walking the streets, armed with some sort of electric staffs as they are imposing marshal law upon its citizens, proclaiming that this is the new golden age. From what we've been able to gather, they're wearing a set of some kind of full body armour. It appears to be made of some sort of golden metal and face mask with a red cape- Oh shit! Move Paul!"_

 _The screen flashed yellow for a moment, before static filled the screen._

 _"Sandra!? Sandra!? Paul!? Is anyone there!?"_

 _The screen was replaced with a middle-aged man sat behind a desk in a news studio, "We seem to have lost contact with Sandra, our news correspondent out in Jump City, and we ask that you be patient at this time, as we attempt to regain contact. But the question of the hour remains - what is what is going on there? We have reports of golden soldiers wearing capes in the streets, staffs that fire electricity and reports of explosions all around City Hall. We're going to try and re-establish contact, but until then, this is David Ashe for Jump City News"_

A flash of gold lightning burst across their vision, as Barry Allen skidded to a stop in front of them, "Are you guys seeing this?"

"No Barry", Oliver's face was devoid of any trace of humour, "we thought we'd just turn the news on, and then just not watch it"

Central City's resident speedster sent him an unamused look, "I'm serious Oliver, what are we going to do? We have to help them!"

Felicity was already on her computer, and while Digg and his team were getting ready to suit up, he slid his hand into his trouser pocket, slightly out of view of everyone, but he managed to grab their attention by not grabbing his bow and placing a call instead. The phone rang twice before he heard Tatsu's voice answering her phone.

"Hello Oliver"

"I saw the news, and my team's here, ready to move", he cast an eye on everyone, and saw that they were all intently listening to the half of a conversation that they could hear, "do we need to intervene? This is your call now"

"No Oliver, it is theirs", she used the tone she used to use in Japan, whenever she thought he was being a bigger ass than was normal for him, "they have put their faith in you, as their trainer, their mentor, and their friend. Perhaps it is time that they had their faith rewarded, no?"

"It's only their first day"

He could hear her smile in her voice, "Is it? Is that not the same as your first day learning under your Yao Fei? Your Slade Wilson?" Her voice grew slightly upset, "Under my Maseo?"

He exhaled, "Is it not the same?"

"No", she agreed, sounding amused again, "you were not ready, unprepared, but you were forced to fight. They are already better trained you were, and they will work together as a team, something you have always struggled with, no? Are they not ready?"

He closed his eyes as he breathed out, letting it clam him, as his old friend had told him what he needed to hear, "You're right"

She chuckled, "Yes, I am, but they have put their faith in you, and you have rewarded them with your trust, in a way that you haven't trusted others before, perhaps, Oliver, it is time that you put your faith in them"

 _Do I trust them with this?_

 _I trust Roy._

 _I trust Thea._

 _I trust Evelyn._

 _I… well I don't think Wally's as annoying as Barry was when I first met him - that has count for something I suppose._

He closed his eyes, nodding to himself, "You're right - again. Thank you, my old friend"

"For what Oliver? Putting you back into place? You are always welcome for that, now let them be the warriors you've prepared them to be. This will be a trial by fire for them. Let them be the heroes that we both know that they are meant to be. This is their fight now. You have made it so"

With her parting words, she hung up on him and he fought back a smile. Straightening up, he slid his phone back into his pocket and looked across the room at John, who was stood next to his Spartan gear, one hand on his helmet, ready to move.

"Stand down John, we're staying out of this one"

"Oliver man-"

"Trust me on this one Diggle, the situation's already in hand", he held the other man's gaze until he saw his consent in his eyes, and he watched as the recruits stood down too, putting their weapons away. Felicity's lips were pursed, like they always were when she was unhappy, but she shut her searches down anyway.

Barry was the sole holdout, the upset look on his face telling him that Barry was not liking that they weren't helping one bit, but eventually the speedster huffed, before disappearing from their eyes in another flash of golden lightning.

Hopefully the younger man wouldn't interfere though.

He already had to worry about one reckless speedster on the job.

Turning away from his team, he turned his attention back to the news station they had rolling, hoping for a glimpse of the heroes he knew were there.

Perhaps today, was the day that his faith would be rewarded too.

* * *

The explosion destroyed the wall opposite the booth they were sitting in, the four of them and Jacques should already have been dead, crushed by massive chunks of debris, but fortunately for the five of them, a speedster was able to react faster than an explosive.

The waiter suddenly found himself disorientated, standing in front of a hot dog stand a block away from his restaurant, but otherwise unharmed from the explosion, while the other three felt slightly dizzy, as they realised they were now sat inside of their SUV, which was already pulling out onto the street.

"What's going on guys?"

Thea asked the question from her place in the backseat next to Evelyn, taking in where they were, as she looked at the fires raging around them, while Wally looked back at them from his place next to Roy, as he gunned the accelerator, heading for the warehouse they were now supposed to be calling home.

"Look, I know we all just met today, and we haven't really done anything in the way of team bonding yet, but it looks like it's time for us to suit up", Wally grinned as he shook his head, "I always wanted to say that"

* * *

The SUV burst into the garage, skimming the top of the door that was still retracting, Wally's expert driving skills and enhanced reflexes being the only reason they didn't flip over as they hit the floor.

Three of them moved in tandem, flying out of the car and heading straight for the armour room, while Wally parked the car, running straight past Tatsu, failing to notice her, as she watched them rush past her with a small smile on her lips.

 _Good luck to you all._

The doors to the hall armour room were solely opening in front of them, raising to the roof, as a flash of yellow shot past them, skidding to a stop in front of the doors as they continued to rise.

Roy hit the floor in a baseball slide, gliding straight under the rising door and popping back on to his feet on the other side. Not waiting for the others, he moved to grab his suit from its already opening display case and darted straight into the changing room.

Behind him, the door finished raising and the other three ducked inside. The girls were quick to grab their gear and head for the changing room, while a blurred figure and yellow streak was all it took for Wally West to be gone, and for the speedster, Impulse, to be stood in his place.

Roy was the first to emerge from the changing room, with his Arsenal gear on, but with his hood down and his mask hung around his neck. He immediately returned to his display case to start loading up with his weapons, and before long, his quiver was fully stocked and slung across his back, his right wrist was surrounded with flechettes, and his escrima sticks were strapped to his left thigh.

Artemis and Speedy took a few moments longer before they emerged and repeated the process, with Artemis strapping a collapsible crossbow to her right thigh, while Speedy sheathed her sword behind her quiver.

With Impulse and Artemis already wearing face masks, Arsenal and Speedy pulled on their domino masks, before flipping up their hoods.

"Alright team", as their hoods and masks had voice distortion software lined in, rather than being an add on, Arsenal's voice was slightly deeper than normal as he spoke, "I say we get a move on"

* * *

The explosions had rattled all throughout key areas of the city, with most of them centred around City Hall, but other key areas throughout the rest of the city had been struck too.

The Jump City Police Department Headquarters had been struck, leaving five officers dead, a further seventeen injured to some degree and their entire fleet of squad vehicles burning, with similar results at the city's private security firms, and any other place that had the means to try and provide the city with armed assistance.

Even the business district hadn't been untouched, with some of the city's major firms being hit, in an attempt to sow unease and panic.

He had left the skate park long before the bombs started going off, and had begun making his way through the city, heading towards the city centre, looking for harder and trickier places to show off his skills with his board; eventually settling on the long stone staircases and accompanying steel rails that the business district was known for.

He was enjoying bouncing off of, and balancing on, the mixture of trees and steps at the entrance to one of the dozen high rises that functioned as the headquarters for some of the international businesses that were based there.

He'd been expecting to see the odd suit and tie every now and then, passing through on their way to make a night meeting, or even a security guard making their rounds, working the night shift.

He had not been expecting an explosion on one of the top floors.

The force of it rattled the ground he was on, unsettling his balance and sending him sprawling to the floor. His head struck the ground as he landed, and he was almost immediately aware that he was bleeding and felt dizzy. He strained his neck to look upwards, fighting back the urge to vomit, as he took in the inky blackness of the night sky. It was normally lit up by the bright signs of corporate logos and neon-filled advertising boards, but tonight it was lit up by flames, and highlighted by screams as the top floors of Kord Industries burned.

Small pieces of debris rained down, bits of burning rock and plaster striking the floor with an alarming amount of speed and force. Dizzy and disorientated, he forced himself to roll onto his stomach and flip his hood up, determined to try and protect himself, to get himself away safely - simply to keep himself alive.

He crawled, still feeling sluggish from his landing, but he managed to drag himself forwards, scratching at the ground, clawing with his hands, determined to pull himself forwards, closer and closer to his own survival - determined to reach the front of the building, knowing that it would be much safer inside.

He was inches away when he felt the second shock, the second explosion expelling with the same amount of force as the first, sending even more debris raining down on top of him, and in his panic, he forgot all about crawling to safety, as he brought his hands up to protect the back of his head.

And then his back burned in pain.

It was an agony unlike anything he'd ever felt before in his life. It started as a burning, stabbing pain in his upper back, before it spread along his nerves like tiny knives piercing his skin, his mouth opened in a silent scream, before his body could take no more, and mercifully, he passed out.


	7. Go Team!

_'You must trust and believe in people of life becomes impossible'_

 _-Anton Chekhov_

* * *

 **Titans**

 **Part One: Genesis**

 **Chapter Six: Go Team!**

* * *

With their brand-new 'T' embossed communication devices in their ears, which had once again, (unknowingly), been donated to them courtesy of Mister Terrific's free time and idle hands, which was made all the more obvious by the way the design matched that of their new phones - the team made their way back towards the heart of Jump City.

Impulse led the way, using the bright yellow lightning that he generated as he ran to help light the way for the rest of them; made all the more necessary by the fact that most of the outer city's lights and power seemed to have been taken down in the initial attack.

Arsenal was right behind him on the lead motorcycle, his bow stored on the holster in front of him; he was far enough behind Impulse that he wouldn't be affected by the lightning trailing from him, but was still close enough to be able to use it to see with; with Speedy on his right and Artemis on his left, the three of them moved as fast as they could, pushing their bikes to their limits, as they fought to get into the city centre as quickly as possible, with the team's resident speedster running just slowly enough to let them keep up with him.

Weaving in between bits of debris and buildings, their bikes slid to a stop as they hit the innermost part of the city, where the roads were damaged in more visible ways and the explosions had started to cause small fires to burn aimlessly, until they sputtered out and died.

The four of them watched on as a group of soldiers attempting to fight against the outraged civilians, who were seriously outgunned, but fighting back nonetheless, allowing the team to get their first look at those responsible for the carnage.

The armour they wore reminded Speedy of the ancient statues they'd seen at museums over the years, designed to look like ancient Roman soldiers, with golden boots and greaves that covered their legs up to their knees. They wore solid black trousers underneath, which no doubt contained extra armour, matched with a solid black tunic that blended almost seamlessly into their trousers; her eye for clothes being all that gave them away. The two pieces had been tied together at the waist with a dark red belt. Over their tunics, they each wore a golden armour plate, which covered their chest and the sides of their stomachs, protecting their ribs. More golden pieces of armour ran down the top of their arms, reaching their wrists, and covering the top of their black-gloved hands, coating their fingers and knuckles, which meant that not only were their hands lightly protected from damage, but any hits they managed would be weighted, and hurt like hell.

Finishing the look was a bright red cape, the same colour as the belt, which hung from their shoulders, reaching down to the back of their knees, and a solid gold face mask combination, which actually resembled more of a helmet. It was also made of what looked like solid gold, and each one had an unadorned faceplate attached to it, with holes for eyes, nose, and a slit for a mouth.

It made them all look robotic, unfeeling, and for a brief moment, both Arsenal and Speedy were harshly reminded of the lifelessness that Deathstroke's Mirakuru-enhanced soldiers had given off.

At their waists hung a golden-handled short sword, sheathed in a black leather scabbard, while they each held a long golden staff, the same length as the wooden ones they were used to training with, and the tip of which cackled with yellow sparks of electricity.

"Alright guys! We need to-"

Impulse shot forward, ignoring Arsenal completely, before slamming one of his reinforced shoulder-pads into the nearest pseudo-soldier, sending him crashing into the wall, and then, unconscious, he slid down to the floor.

His attack worked in allowing the civilians that were being attacked time to escape, but it also succeeded in drawing everyone's attention to the four of them. Arsenal swore under his breath, already drawing back his bow alongside Artemis, while Speedy had already moved off to the side and disappeared from his view.

Impulse moved quicker than the rest of them could see, taking the fight to another with a flurry of punches at a speed the others couldn't keep up with, before he was struck from behind with the bottom of one of the staffs, the force of the blow sent him down to one knee, before a second shot collided with the side of his head, sending him sprawling across the floor.

Artemis and Arsenal loosed their bows, each of them firing off an arrow that hit one of his attackers in their shoulders; the one Arsenal had hit span into the wall, his helmet colliding with it, while Artemis hit only armour, her arrow bouncing off. The two of them leapt forwards, moving to meet the archer, as Arsenal rushed them, leaving Artemis to help get Impulse back on his feet. She pulled him up and away while Arsenal fended off their two attackers, having hung his bow over his body and replaced it with his escrima sticks.

He ducked under one staff, using the momentum to spin into a side kick that sent his opponent backwards, before he brought his hands back up to block the blow the second staff aimed at his head. He tried pushing back, even as he dug his feet in, but his stronger opponent managed to force him backwards.

They held each other their for a moment, grunting, as neither one dared give an inch.

"HYAH!"

With a roar, Speedy dropped down from above, wielding her sword in both hands, as she brought it downwards with all her might, striking the staff directly in the middle of his grip, slicing through it and cutting it cleanly in half.

The soldier looked at his weapon in sheer disbelief, as the two ends began to pulse in the same shade of yellow as the electricity they generated, before the staff begin to whine.

Eyes widening behind his mask, he dropped it, diving to the ground, while Speedy stood still, surprised that she had shattered the weapon, even as Arsenal reached for her.

A flash of yellow had Impulse pulling all of them around the nearest corner, before dashing back for a brief second to grab their unconscious opponents. They heard the electricity in the staff build up, reaching its breaking point and exploding violently, scorching the ground and walls of the alley they had been in just a few seconds earlier.

Impulse dropped the soldiers to the ground and Artemis fired off a corded arrow, which wrapped around the three of them, tying them tightly together around their torsos, and binding their arms to their sides, while Speedy removed their swords and hidden daggers, leaving them with no chance of escaping their bonds.

They were the police's problem now.

With a nod of his head, Arsenal indicated the roof of the block of flats above them, and they all moved off, the archers firing off grappling arrows, while Impulse simply ran straight up the side of it, with one thought on the violet vigilante's mind.

 _We need to talk._

* * *

Despite what the movies seemed to say, he decided that pain was decidedly overrated.

His mind woke up in stages, slowly creeping towards alertness more and more with each passing second, until he had enough sense of mind to be able to open his eyes, wincing at the bright yellows and oranges of the flames that were still flickering above him.

Touching a hand to his head, he swiped gently at it, grateful to see that it only came away covered in dust and sweat, and none of his blood, before he began to pull himself slowly to his feet.

He staggered slightly, swaying on the spot, as he took a moment to regain his balance - there was no point in him getting up just to fall down again - before he repeated his check for blood with his back, which was the only part of himself that was in any real pain.

It felt hotter than the rest of him, rougher too, but he was still too confused to really care. All he wanted to do was get of there, and get back to his place, to get back to his place and check on Paco. He was worried that his _hermanito_ had been caught in the explosions too, and he needed to see that he was safe.

Checking his hands to see that there was no blood coming from his back, and as he felt fine to walk, he began to make his way back to their shelter, leaving the burning Kord Industries building behind him.

* * *

"So", Artemis got straight to the point when they landed, "what's the plan?"

"That's a good question", irritation laced Arsenal's voice as he looked at the others, "what the hell just happened?"

"What are you talking about? We just won, didn't we?"

The original protégé rounded on the team speedster, "Won what? We beat three guys out of the hundreds or so that are probably terrorising the city-"

"It still counts"

"Yes, but it doesn't matter if we get ourselves killed before we stop them. What were you thinking, you didn't even stop to take a look at what was going on around you, and all it took was one of them, that with all your speed you somehow managed not to notice, hitting you to put you on the floor", the slightly older teen huffed, "are you aware that when you're on the ground, you're just as slow as the rest of us?"

"I'm sorry I didn't see him-", the speedster started sarcastically, only to be cut off once more.

"You should have. With your speed you probably could've scoped out the entire area before we manage to fire off a single arrow. Instead you just rushed in, and rushing in head first is how people get killed doing this Impulse"

The younger man looked downcast, staring at his feet, "Sorry", he muttered, "I'll do better"

Huffing once more, the violet clad vigilante turned to face his ex-girlfriend, "And where did you go? We had no idea where you were until you dropped down from outta nowhere"

"Uhh, I blended in with our surroundings, the way we were taught to-"

"You mean the same way the girl with a month's experience and the boy with less than a single day's were taught to? Remember, we haven't all trained under the Green Arrow _and_ the Dark Archer the way you have - I trained with your brother far longer than you did, and I sure as hell didn't know where you were - you can't just disappear and expect us all to follow you, working as part of some plan that we don't know about. This team isn't ready for that, we can't just follow your lead like that"

"Why the hell not?" She stepped up to him, until they were practically nose to nose, her brown eyes burned with the fire that had always drawn him in, except now, he was just as angry as she was, "Every team needs a leader. Star City has the Green Arrow, Central City has The Flash, The Legends have the White Canary"

"And what? We have you?"

Speedy turned to face the other girl, "Why not me? Like you said, training under both the Green Arrow _and_ the Dark Archer, both of whom were also Ra's al Ghul for a time, master combatants, leader of the League of Assassins-"

"Not so sure I'd advertise that part", Impulse muttered, earning him a glare from both girls, before Speedy returned to her reasoning.

"I've had all of their tactical training, giving me the biggest advantage here, I can handle the most weapons, speak the most languages - I am the obvious choice", she finished, Artemis nodding along with her as she spoke, while Impulse was frowning lightly, upset at being silently chastised.

"I think she's right"

"Well I don't"

"Seriously? You three want to do this now? We can table this discussion for later, but right now, this city needs saving", Arsenal left the three of them stood together, as he looked for where the majority of the fires were coming from - that's where the main source of the problem would be, "You can either come with me to do that, or you can stay here and argue over who you think should be in charge, but me? I'm going to help"

He fired off a grappling arrow, the others paused for a moment, watching him swing down towards the ground, before they did the same.

Their discussion, it seemed, would be able to wait.

* * *

City Hall was a mess.

That was the only word Artemis could think of to describe the situation.

The destruction in the area was worse than everywhere else in the city, the large fires were extinguished, but smaller fires still littered the area, though they were slowly dwindling down and dying out, as the chaos from the confusion of the attack was replaced with a sense of law and order.

Only it was law and order provided by the golden soldiers walking the streets, marching in small square groups, three by five, with their staffs held over their shoulders.

It seemed that they were already in command of the city, the men working in the outer areas were the ones responsible for making sure that their control was absolute. Their authority in the centre of town was uncontested, even the fire crews and paramedics working to treat the wounded were doing so under their directions, too afraid to even try and do anything other than exactly what they were told.

From their vantage point on the roof of an apartment block, the quartet of young heroes took in their opposition. Counting the amount they had seen on their way in towards the city centre, as well as those that were active outside, Arsenal's best guess was that there were approximately three hundred soldiers acting inside of the city limits.

Those weren't odds he liked facing, even if they weren't covered in protective armour and carrying electricity-discharging weaponry.

 _And swords too_ ¸ his mind supplied, _don't forget the super-sharp swords._

Looking down at the stage some of them were constructing, a part of him wished that he could just call Oliver for help, to be able get the Green Arrow stood back by his side, the two of them working as a team once more would definitely make him feel better about taking on suicidal odds.

But he couldn't.

Oliver had come to him with his idea, an idea of preparing the next generation to take over from him and his team, and he was determined to prove that not only was it was possible, but that _he_ could be the one to make it happen.

And that meant they had to be capable of standing on their own two feet when shit got difficult.

Even if it was only day one.

"So", he spoke up for the first time since they'd left their argument on the roof behind, "Any idea what we're dealing with?"

"Soldiers", Speedy supplied, "with some kind of lightweight golden armour, matching face coverings and some kind of electronic weaponry I'm guessing"

Artemis piped up, "Where d'you think they get their weapons from?"

"It's definitely advanced stuff like", Impulse added, "a staff capable of storing and using that amount of electricity would be hard to make, never mind making this many of them. It'd take a genius to pull of something like that"

"So whoever's outfitting them has to be a genius then", Speedy smiled lightly underneath her hood, "that has to narrow the field down somewhat"

"They could just be rich… or simply being funded from elsewhere", Arsenal screwed his face up in confusion, "but then why electricity? Why not just go and buy a ton of automatics with some new age armour piecing rounds?"

"So, what? You think it's some kind of theme? Like what Captain Cold had?"

Arsenal turned to face the team speedster, "Yeah actually, but that was a little different"

"How?"

"Well, Leonard Snart, or Captain Cold, as you lot call him", Wally grinned at that, "all he wanted was a weapon that would let him slow down The Flash long enough for him to get a win - there was an actual purpose to the gun; it wasn't just because he liked the look of it. Why does the guy-"

"-or girl", Artemis piped up again.

"Or girl", he amended, "in charge want to use electricity-based weapons and swords? There has to be a reason for it, you don't just go around thinking, you know what? I think electricity looks better than bullets, we should use that, and I know that _some_ of us", he indicated Speedy with a nod of his head, "make swords look easy, but they take either years or prodigies to master; there's no way that everyone in this army knows what they're doing with one"

"Speaking of which", Speedy moved next to Arsenal, the two of them watching as soldiers continued to build a stage, "where did the army come from anyway?"

"There's definitely a few mercs in there - they're the ones walking differently, the ones that still have a bit of attitude left in 'em"

"Yeah, but what about the others though?"

"What about Darhk?"

Speedy turned to Artemis, scrutinising her under her green face mask, "Damien Darhk? What about him?"

"Well he had those ghosts right? They were meant to be brainwashed and shit-"

"You think that happened here? Say he did, where d'you find about three hundred people to make disappear and turn them into tin men?"

"I think they're supposed to be made of gold"

"Impulse! That is so _not the point_ "

"Sorry"

"The homeless", when everyone turned to look at Arsenal he explained, "you wouldn't notice if the homeless went missing. The homeless, prostitutes, gang bangers - if people like that go missing you'd just chalk it up to normal stuff, people move on, or get ganked or shot, bodies go missing. Go slowly, grab only two or three at a time, from enough cities, and with enough time-"

"You'd have enough for an army", Speedy finished, as she looked down at the ramrod stiff men that walked in perfect synchronicity, not missing a beat between them, "so how in the hell do we beat an army?"

Artemis twisted an arrow around her fingertips, "We do what the Green Arrow did with Darhk"

Impulse sounded nervous, rocking backwards and forwards on the soles of his bright red boots, "Yeah, what did he do exactly?"

Speedy smiled, "He cut off the head of the snake-"

"Oh"

"-and then he watched, looking on, as the body died"

* * *

He stumbled back into alley they were using to house their shelter, struggling to stay on his feet as he stumbled inside. The pain was gone for the most part, relegated until it had just become a dull throbbing sensation at his back.

His big problem now was that he was exhausted.

Each step felt like it needed a Herculean effort to make it, fighting gravity itself just to stay on his feet.

His body hit one of the steel posts they were using as a support column, and he bounced off it slightly, before rolling to the ground, determined to stay there.

 ** _Recommendation: You require immediate rest._**

That thought - a few hours of rest - sounded like a good idea, a great one even; and he even went as far as to shut his eyes.

" _Hermano_ …"

His eyes snapped open at the sound of Paco's voice. It was faint, barely there, but he had definitely heard it.

 _"…ayudame hermano"_

He forced himself back to his feet, stumbling through their home of tin and wood, until he saw him.

Paco was slumped against the wall with a gaping hole in his chest.

For what felt like the longest of moments, he was stunned; there was no debris, no pieces of wood or rebar there to have caused the damage - Paco didn't even look like he had been out in the explosions.

And then he moaned.

He was at his friend's side in less than a second, grabbing an old towel, and using it to try and stop the flow of blood that was just leaking out of his friend's torso. His injuries looked bad - he had to get him to a hospital, and fast - but there was no way that he was going to get an ambulance to come to him now, not with all the damage that was out there.

 ** _Assessment: His injury is life-threatening._**

 ** _Estimated time until death: Forty-seven seconds._**

"Paco, Paco, you need to stay with me man", he tapped him on the cheeks, determined to get something from him, "PACO!"

"-ck… ack…"

"Ese, what are you saying man?"

Using what little he had left, Paco inched his lips closer to his friend's ear, shuddering with the effort, as he gasped for breath, "He said… his name… was… _Black_ …"

He let go, his body's strength failing him; Paco's hands falling limply to the side, as his breathing become strained, his chest rattling, mocking him, as his friend gave up, his torso no longer moving.

He wasn't breathing.

 ** _Assessment: This 'Paco' is deceased._**

He wasn't sure when he had started crying, but all he knew now was that his best friend had a giant hole in his chest, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Muttering a small prayer, he folded his hands in his lap, before carefully closing his eyes, gently pushing the eyelids down, until they covered his _hermanito's_ eyes.

He took a moment to take it in: the stillness of his chest, the blank look in his eyes; even as he absently traced the wound on his chest.

They were meant to go to Detroit together; to find real jobs, but now they never would.

He focused on that, something hot and heavy hanging in his chest as his brother's last words rang through his head.

 _"He said he was Black…"_

It didn't matter who or what _'Black'_ was.

 _'Black'_ had placed his hands on Paco, and regardless of anything else tonight, there was no sin more unforgivable in his mind, and whoever committed it would pay dearly.

They were his thoughts, even as he realised that his world had become bathed in a harsh, orange light, which only made him want to find this _'Black'_ more.

 ** _Recommendation: Discover the source of the damage._**

 ** _Recommendation: Take revenge on the involved parties._**

Now _that_ sounded like a good idea.

"Yeah", he spoke out, his voice sounding strange even to his own ears, "let's go and do that"


End file.
